OPOs Breaking Records, Saving Lives: OPOs and Transplant Centers Thrived in 2025 Despite the Continuing Profound Governance Failures by CMS and Congress
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OPOs Breaking Records, Saving Lives: OPOs and Transplant Centers Thrived in 2025 Despite the Continuing Profound Governance Failures by CMS and Congress
The ongoing governance and oversight failures of Congress and CMS raise a life-and-death question. Who is best serving the 100,000 plus patients on the organ waiting lists and the donor families who will bring them life?
Generous organ donors and the dedicated professionals at US Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and transplant centers enabled 49,064 organ transplants in 2025, saving an estimated 44,500 lives.
Tragically, 2025 could represent the high-water mark for the world’s best organ transplant system. Despite statistical evidence proving its fatal flaws, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is forging ahead with the false reform of its Final Rule, and new proposed rule which will lead to arbitrary decertification of up to 40% of the nation’s Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), leaving transplant centers facing potential chaos as they seek precious organs for their patients.
Three federal lawsuits have been filed to challenge this pending disaster.
Despite CMS’ threats, despite the news media’s unwarranted sensationalism caused by misinformation fueled by special interests, the organ donation and transplantation field enjoyed a year of undeniable achievements, setting new records and giving tens of thousands of Americans a second chance at life. Let’s look at the facts:
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A Missoula Montana-based OPO set a record in 2025, assisting 73 organ donors. A total of 211 organs from donors in the northwestern US were distributed to transplant centers nationwide, a 36% increase from 2024. LCNW is the federally designated OPO serving a four-state region that includes Montana, Alaska, Washington, and northern Idaho.
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Located in three states, it achieved its highest annual transplant volume in history in 2025 by performing 2,065 solid organ transplants across its Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota campuses, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).
The new record surpasses 2,006 transplanted solid organs in 2024 and 1,952 in 2023. Said transplant surgeon Julie Heimbach, M.D., “This incredible milestone is only made possible by the generosity of our donors and donor families, the resilience of our transplant recipients, and the unwavering dedication of our transplant care teams.”
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Serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware, reported that it coordinated more life-saving organ transplants than any organ procurement organization in U.S. history, while recording the highest number of donor heroes in its 51-year history. The OPO coordinated 1,955 organ transplants in 2025, including 984 kidney transplants, marking the tenth consecutive year Gift of Life led the nation in kidney coordination and bringing its cumulative kidney transplant total to 22,756 — a national record. The Philadelphia-based OPO also coordinated 508 liver transplants and 180 heart transplants, the highest single-year totals in U.S. history, and worked with 725 organ donor heroes, the most ever for the program.
Intermountain Health Transplant Program – Utah
A transplant center at Intermountain Medical Center near Salt Lake City, UT, serves patients primarily in Utah and Idaho, as well as in Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Kansas. It set a new record in 2025 by performing 515 organ transplants, marking the first time a program in Utah has surpassed 500 transplants in a single year. This marked the sixth consecutive year the program has broken its own record, achieving its goal of 500 transplants five years ahead of its 2030 target. Intermountain’s record-breaking year included 227 liver transplants and 32 heart transplants.
Tennessee Donor Services
An OPO based in Nashville achieved record-breaking results in 2025, facilitating life-saving organ transplants from 485 organ donors, resulting in 1,344 transplants and supporting 2,604 tissue donors. These efforts, alongside 1,016 recovered birth-tissue donations, significantly improved patient care across the state.
Vanderbilt Transplant Center (Vtc) - Nashville
Performed 960 solid organ transplants in 2025, the most ever completed by a single center in one year in the United States. Through dramatic growth, the VTC is now the nation’s largest transplant center by volume, according to UNOS. The VTC saved 85 additional critically ill patients in calendar year 2025 than in 2024.
VTC’s heart transplant team also set a new world record in 2025 for the second year in a row, performing 210 adult and pediatric heart transplants. The lung transplant program set a VTC record last year with 149 adult transplants, making it the No. 2 program in the U.S.
Donor Alliance – Colorado & Wyoming
The OPO serving Colorado and most of Wyoming achieved a record-breaking year in 2025 with 314 organ donors facilitating 1,036 transplants. This marks continued growth from 2024, which saw 311 donors and 947 transplants. The organization has hit new records for nine consecutive years, driven by one of the highest donor registration rates in the US: 66.2% of driver's license/ID applicants, with Wyoming at 58.41%.
Onelegacy – Southern California
The OPO serving Southern California coordinated organ donation for 748 individuals in 2025, a national record. An organizational record of 1,949 lifesaving organs was transplanted. The year’s accomplishments included record numbers of kidney and liver transplants: 975 kidneys and 467 livers.
In 2025, 76% of OneLegacy’s organ recipients identified as racially or ethnically diverse, underscoring the organization’s commitment to equitable care. These milestones are critical as kidney disease remains a leading health concern nationwide and among diverse populations.
Medical innovation was a feature of OneLegacy’s successful 2025. The OPO played a pivotal role in two groundbreaking achievements: the first-ever bladder transplant in partnership with Keck Medicine of USC and UCLA Health, and OneLegacy’s first pediatric partial heart transplant in partnership with Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. These advancements not only saved lives but also opened new options for patients who previously had few.
In 2025, OneLegacy fulfilled the wishes of 2,335 tissue donors, who saved and healed over 135,000 lives. OneLegacy also helped restore sight to 1,585 recipients through corneal transplants, an increase of more than 10% from 2024.
Midwest Transplant Network – Missouri & Kansas
In 2025, achieved historic milestones in organ donation, recovering 1,080 organs for transplant from 371 donors. This record-breaking performance underscores the organization's commitment to saving lives across Kansas and western Missouri, driven by higher donation rates and strategic partnerships. MTN also placed a record 132 organs for medical research, marking a 74% increase.
