Public mistrust linked to drop in deceased donor organ donations and
kidney transplants
[January 15, 2026]
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
WASHINGTON (AP) — Organ donations from the recently deceased dropped
last year for the first time in over a decade, resulting in fewer kidney
transplants, according to an analysis issued Wednesday that pointed to
signs of public mistrust in the lifesaving system.
More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the list for an organ
transplant. The vast majority of them need a kidney, and thousands die
waiting every year.
The nonprofit Kidney Transplant Collaborative analyzed federal data and
found 116 fewer kidney transplants were performed last year than in
2024. That small difference is a red flag because the analysis traced
the decline to some rare but scary reports of patients prepared for
organ retrieval despite showing signs of life.
Those planned retrievals were stopped and the U.S. is developing
additional safeguards for the transplant system, which saves tens of
thousands of lives each year. But it shook public confidence, prompting
some people to remove their names from donor lists.
Dr. Andrew Howard, who leads the Kidney Transplant Collaborative, said
last year’s dip in kidney transplants would have been larger except for
a small increase — about 100 — in transplants from living donors, when a
healthy person donates one of their kidneys to someone in need. The
collaborative advocates for increased living donations, which make up a
fraction of the roughly 28,000 yearly kidney transplants.
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The organ donor entry on the back of a driver license is
photographed in New York, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison,
File)
 With the exception of 2020, when the
COVID-19 pandemic was raging, organ transplants have been rising
year-to-year. Last year’s decline in deceased donors didn’t
translate into fewer transplants overall: There were just over
49,000 compared with 48,150 in 2024. Transplants of hearts, livers
and lungs continued to see gains, according to federal data. Howard
said that was likely due to differences in how various organs are
evaluated and allocated for transplant.
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations wasn’t involved
in Wednesday’s analysis but expressed alarm, calling on its members,
hospitals and federal regulators “to unite in restoring public trust
and strengthening this critical system.”
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