34,771
transplants performed last year
6,183
living donor transplants performed last year
More than 670,000 people in the United States live with end-stage renal disease and more than 100,000 people are on the kidney transplant waitlist. Learn the facts, risks, and benefits of:
- Dialysis
- Transplant from a deceased donor
- Transplant from a living donor
- Find a living donor
- Become a living donor
Stories of Hope
T1D free!
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1990 when I was 6 years old. I had for the most part taken very good care of myself, and I never let T1D hold me back. In 2016 I was told that my kidneys had begun to spill protein (proteinuria), but that they still were 100% functioning, that I did not have kidney disease, and that the kidneys could be saved with a pancreas- only transplant
Losing a sister, saving a life with donation
A campus classroom may seem like an odd spot to consider organ donation. But trust Sara Miller when she tells you it is better than a hospital waiting room. That’s where she and her family made the decision eight years ago to donate the liver of Miller’s older sister, Laura, who had been declared brain-dead days after being diagnosed with cancer at age 14.
‘Yes’ means we’ve become a family
Michael Pettijohn was a strong guy. After four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he went to work at a consulting engineering company and started taking night classes at UT San Antonio to earn his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Busy as he was, he didn’t think much of it when he started feeling tired, and didn’t even notice his eyes had turned yellow.
Living donation
Living donation is when a healthy living organ donor gives an organ such as a kidney or part of an organ such as a portion of a lung, liver, pancreas, or intestine to a recipient.
Costs
Before undergoing an organ transplant, it’s important to understand the costs. You will want to work with your transplant team make sure you have an individual plan to cover transplant costs.
Kidney disease and treatment
There can be multiple circumstances and medical conditions that lead to kidney disease. Learn more about kidney disease and treatment options through our Kidney Transplant Learning Center.
Caregivers
In order for patients to have successful transplant outcomes, it’s important for organ recipients or living donors to have quality care and support before and after surgery. Learn more.
Find a support group
Receive support from other organ transplant patients and families by finding a support group near you. Click here to learn more and find the right type of support group for you or your family.
In the news
New booklet advises parents of pediatric transplant patients
A new resource booklet, “What Every Parent Needs to Know,” is available for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents who need or receive an organ transplant.
UNOS celebrates 34th anniversary founding
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) was founded March 21, 1984, by the leadership of the South-Eastern Organ Procurement Foundation (SEOPF). UNOS was intended to become the nation’s organ transplant network, an idea that was still in development as Congress worked...
Public comment sought
Strategic plan among proposals