Organ Transplants Hit Record Level Despite Pandemic

One positive Covid pandemic trend is that organ transplants reached a record level in 2021, proving the virus is not immune to our medical skill, nor can it kill the human spirit for generosity & brotherhood.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing that manages the US transplant system, the “total transplants from January to December of last year – reported as 41,354 – exceeded 40,000 for the first time ever.” Said UNOS CEO Brian Shepard, “I was worried [the pandemic challenges] would slow us down more than it has, but the hospitals, the doctors and nurses, the folks who are doing the organ recoveries have all been really resilient and committed to getting this work done.”

Let’s not forget the donors themselves. Yet, there’s more work to be done in perfecting the system as the Mayo Clinic says “as many as 20 patients still die in the US every day due to a lack of donor organs.

Davd Soul