New England Donor Services Announces Record Number of Life-Saving Organ Donors in 2023

549 organ donors in the region resulted in 1,401 life-saving organ transplants

WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New England Donor Services (NEDS) today announced record numbers of life-saving deceased donor organ donations and transplants in its New England service area, which represented significant growth for a third consecutive year.

In 2023, 549 deceased donors donated organs resulting in 1,401 life-saving transplants. This record level of clinical activity places NEDS among the nation’s top 4 organ procurement organizations by donor volume. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the annual number of organ donors by 52 percent.

NEDS also coordinated the recovery of donated tissue from 1,733 donors, including donated cornea, bone, skin, heart valves and other tissues used in necessary medical procedures to heal and transform lives. Tissue donated through NEDS is used in upwards of 60,000 tissue transplants each year.

“It is the thoughtfulness and generosity of our organ and tissue donors and their families who said, ‘yes’ to the decision to donate, that makes these life-saving transplants a reality,” said Alexandra K. Glazier, President and CEO of New England Donor Services. “The consecutive years of high performance demonstrate why our nation’s system of donation and transplantation is considered the best in the world. We are committed to continue working with clinical partners, donor families, and across all the communities that we serve to ensure that life-saving organ donations are handled with care and equity to honor the lives of the donors and to meet the need of patients awaiting transplant.”

NEDS is the federally designated non-profit organization responsible for the recovery of organs and tissues for transplant in the region. Working sensitively with donor families, NEDS staff of over 300 employees screen for potential donation opportunities, lead donation authorization discussions, maintain medical support of potential donors, coordinate surgical recovery of donated organs and tissues, allocate organs according to the national transplant waiting list and direct transport of organs to transplant centers and tissues to processors.

Phyllis Wilkerson of Stamford, CT, received a kidney transplant and heart transplant on the same day in 2023. Ms. Wilkerson said, “The organ donations I received saved my life. I am beyond grateful to the donor and their family for thinking of others even as they grieved the loss of a loved one.”

In addition to representing a record year for organ and tissue donation for New England, 2023 included several other milestones. In May 2023, NEDS coordinated 61 organ donors that resulted in 160 life-saving transplants; the most ever recovered and transplanted in a single month in New England. In November 2023, NEDS reached 500 donors for the calendar year, the first time that milestone was achieved in the region.

One person can save up to eight lives as an organ donor and heal 75 people as a tissue donor. Residents of New England can register as donors on their driver’s license, through the Apple iPhone health app or on the national Donate Life Donor Registry at www.RegisterMe.org.

About New England Donor Services (NEDS)

New England Donor Services is a leading nonprofit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the eastern counties of Vermont and Bermuda. Co-founded in 1968 by Nobel Laureat Dr. Joseph Murray, who performed the world’s first successful organ transplant, today NEDS works with thousands of donors and donor families who have generously made the decision to give the gift of life. The organization’s highly skilled staff medically screen referrals for potential donations from more than 200 hospitals across the region and lead all donor authorization discussions with families. NEDS also allocates organs according to the national transplant waiting list and coordinates their transport to ensure the right organs get to the right patients at the right time. Learn more at https://neds.org/ or follow us on LinkedIn or on X at @NEDonorServices.

Contacts

Media

Sean Fitzpatrick, New England Donor Services

SFitzpatrick@neds.org

Travis Small, Slowey McManus Communications

617-538-9041 (cell), tsmall@sloweymcmanus.com