THE FACTS
The Latest 2024 Information About Living Donor Liver Transplant in The US & Overseas
2024: Key Numbers
| All Organ Transplants in 2024 | 48,149 |
| Increase from 2021 | ↑ 3.25% |
| Key Milestone | New annual record |
2024: Deceased Donor Trends
| Number of Deceased Donors | 16,988 |
| Increase from 2021 | ↑ 9.0% |
| Key Milestone | 14th consecutive year with an increase in deceased donation |
2024: US Liver Transplant History
| Total Number of Liver Transplants Since 1988 (as of 7/16/25) | 229,093 |
| Living Donor Transplants Since 1988 | 10,565 or 4.6% of total |
| Deceased Donor Transplants Since 1988 | 218,528 or 95.4% of total |
| Total Liver Transplants in 2024 | 11,458 |
| Living Donor Liver Transplants in 2024 | 604 |
| Deceased Donor Liver Transplants in 2024 | 10,854 |
| Key Milestone | 2024: most liver transplants ever |
| Decrease in Living Donor Transplants from 2023 | 8.2% |
| Increase in Deceased Donor Transplants from 2023 | 8.5% |
2024: Transplants By Organ
| Kidney | 27,759 |
| Liver | 11,458 |
| Heart | 4,572 |
2024: Living Donor Trends Liver & Kidney
| Total Number of Living Kidney & Liver Donors | 7,022 |
| Increase from 2023 | 1.1% |
| Living Liver Donors | 604 |
| Living Kidney Donors | 6418 |
Liver Transplant Around the Globe
| USA | Deceased donor is predominant form of transplant |
| South & Southeast Asia | Living donor is predominant form of transplant mainly due to cultural beliefs and religious differences related to deceased donor transplant |
| Knowledge Sharing | Many surgeons from USA travel to Japan, South Korea and China to learn latest techniques and share best practices |
2024: Living Donor: Liver & Kidney Transplant Comparison
| Liver | 604 living donor transplants | 5.3% of total liver transplants |
| Kidney | 6,418 living donor transplants | 23.1% of total kidney transplants |
Candidates* on UNOS Transplant Waiting List (As of 7/16/25)
| Liver | 8,953 |
| Kidney | 91,666 |
| Liver Wait List Outcomes | Approximately 15 – 20% of patients awaiting a liver transplant die or become too sick to receive a transplant |
*A patient who is waiting at more than one center, or for multiple organs, would be counted as only one candidate.