For the sixth year in a row, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates has broken previous records in saving lives and expanding the donor registry.
According to a news release, in 2023, 299 organ donors donated 729 transplants, the most in the Affiliates history. Thousand more individual benefited from tissue donation.
Those numbers represent a 25% increase in organ donation and a 20% increase in organs transplanted compared to 2022 and the highest number of lives saved, 693, in any given year. In 2023, KODA saw the highest number of donations and transplants for hearts, kidneys, livers, and lungs, saving more lives than ever before in a single year. Additionally, 633 generous tissue donors provided healing to nearly 50,000 patients in need of a transplantable graft for medical procedures, such as heart valve replacements, skin grafts and orthopedic surgeries.
In a partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Diver’s License Officers and the Donate Life Kentucky Trust, more than 90,200 individuals joined Kentucky’s confidential organ, eye, and tissue donor registry in 2023.
President and CEO Julie Bergin says, “Every day, our goal is to save lives, and we are consistently amazed by the selfless choices people make when they choose donation. Giving the gift of life is the most generous act a person can make, and without our donors and donor families, we would have lost nearly 700 of our community members last year.”