Kidney Transplants Drop Amid Increased Organ Donation Oversight

Several organizations expressed concern about the decline.

Doctors in Spain perform a renal transplantation on a patient in Madrid on Feb. 28, 2017. Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images

The number of kidney transplants in the United States dropped in 2025, according to a new report.

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative analyzed national data and found 28,377 kidney transplants were carried out in 2025, down 116 transplants from the previous year.

The drop stemmed from a steeper decline in donations of kidneys from deceased individuals, according to the nonprofit, which advocates for policies that will increase kidney transplants. There was a rise in kidney donations from living donors, which partially offset the decline.

“For the first time in decades, we are seeing a measurable decline in deceased kidney donations even as living donations continue to rise,” Dr. Andy Howard, chair of the collaborative, said in a statement. “This is a serious signal for the transplant community and patients will feel the consequences quickly.”

About three-quarters of the donated kidneys in 2025 came from dead donors. Transplant levels remained steady through the initial months of 2025, then started declining in June.

Over the summer, federal officials said that organ donations were authorized for patients still showing signs of life, prompting them to take steps to tighten regulations for the system, such as decertifying an organization that procures organs.

The nonprofit cited media reports that emerged regarding individual cases, including a woman who was declared dead and was cut into for a donation when doctors found her heart was still beating. She is still alive.

The heightened focus on the organ transplant system “has likely unsettled participants in the deceased donor process,” the Kidney Transplant Collaborative said in the report. “Rather than reinforcing confidence, this environment may be contributing to hesitation among donors, families, and institutions at a moment when continued growth in deceased donation is critical.”

The report noted that thousands of people removed themselves from organ donation lists in August 2025.

More than 100,000 people are on an organ waiting list, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. About 94,000 are waiting for a kidney, according to the Kidney Transplant Collaborative.

Some die while waiting for an organ.

The kidney transplant nonprofit said another possible cause of the drop in transplants is organ procurement organizations (OPOs) becoming more conservative amid the heightened scrutiny.

The national transplant system runs as a partnership between the organizations, the federal government, and other groups. It is run by the government and the United Network for Organ Sharing.

The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations said this week that the decrease in kidney transplants in 2025 was alarming and attributed it to a decline in public trust stemming from “widespread misinformation and confusion about how organ donation works and the role of each stakeholder in the process.”

“We call on all stakeholders in organ donation and transplantation—from OPOs to our hospital partners and federal regulators—to unite in restoring public trust and strengthening this critical system that has served millions of Americans and their families,” it stated.