April 16, 2001
Organ transplants rose 5.4% in 2000 compared with 1999, according to
preliminary data on United States organ donors released by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration
and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
Organ transplants in 2000 totaled 22,827, an increase of 1,172 over the
21,655 transplants that occurred in 1999. The figures were announced as
part of National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, April 15-22.
"We're encouraged by the progress that has been made in the last year, but
there's still a very long way to go," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.
The Secretary noted the number of Americans seeking transplants — more
than 75,000 — remains far above the number of donors.
Secretary Thompson will unveil his national initiative on donation tomorrow
in events at HHS headquarters and the National Press Club.
The number of living donors rose from 4,747 in 1999 to 5,532 in 2000, an
increase of 16.5%, the largest 1-year jump ever recorded. Donors
from cadavers rose from 5,825 in 1999 to 5,984 in 2000, an increase of 2.7%.
UNOS President Patricia Adams, MD, said the large increase in living
donation results from progress in the field of transplantation combined with
the relative shortage of cadaveric donors.
"We must remember increasing living donation alone will not save enough
lives," said Adams. "We must continue to educate the public about the
importance of organ donation, which is what National Organ and Tissue Donor
Awareness Week (NOTDAW) is about." A calendar of NOTDAW events around the
country is available online at www.unos.org.
HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) — through its Division of
Transplantation — oversees and provides funds for the nation's organ
procurement, allocation and transplantation system, and administers the
national bone marrow registry program. The division, part of HRSA's Office
of Special Programs, also coordinates national organ and tissue donation
activities and funds research to learn more about what works to increase
donation.
UNOS, a nonprofit charitable organization,
maintains the nation's organ transplant waiting list under a HRSA contract.
Under that contract and on behalf of the Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network, UNOS brings together medical professionals,
transplant recipients, and donor families to develop organ transplantation
policy.