WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- U.S. health officials Tuesday said 26,984 Americans received an organ transplant in 2004, an 11 percent increase from 2003 and a new national record.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in 2004 there were more than 20,000 transplant operations using organs from more than 7,000 deceased donors, an increase of almost 11 percent from 2003.
Transplants using an organ donated by a living person also hit a new high in 2004, at 6,966, an increase of 2.3 percent from 2003. Organ donations from living persons are limited to a single organ, usually the kidney, or piece of a single organ.
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data show the most common transplant procedures in 2004 were kidney transplants, which increased 5 percent over 2003 numbers, and liver transplants, which increased nearly 9 percent.
The number of heart transplants decreased slightly in 2004 because of advances in medical and surgical procedures to treat heart disease.
