Over the past few years, there has been growing criticism of the performance record of the U.S. organ transplant system.
The number of people on the national transplant waiting list remains persistently high – over 100,000 – with an average of thirteen people who die every day waiting for an organ, according to the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Is this number high because there are not enough donors willing to commit to organ donation? The answer is surprising.