PHILADELPHIA, PA — Gift of Life Donor Program set a new national benchmark in 2025, coordinating 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 Philadelphia-headquartered nonprofit coordinated 1,955 organ transplants in 2025, the most ever by a U.S. OPO. That total included 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 — also a national record.
The organization also coordinated 508 liver transplants and 180 heart transplants, both the highest single-year totals in U.S. history, and worked with 725 organ donor heroes, the most ever for the program. Since the national transplant system began in 1988, Gift of Life has coordinated 43,108 organ transplants overall, more than any other OPO.
Gift of Life serves eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware and consistently ranks in the top performance tier of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for donation and transplant outcomes.
Much of the growth was driven by rapid adoption of advanced recovery and preservation techniques, particularly Donation After Circulatory Death and Normothermic Regional Perfusion. The expanded use of NRP within Gift of Life’s DCD program fueled a 35% year-over-year increase in liver transplants in 2025 and enabled donations that would not have been possible in prior years, including the oldest DCD liver transplant in U.S. history from an 83-year-old donor.
“Transplants that would not have been possible just a few years ago are now taking place daily,” said Richard D. Hasz Jr., president and chief executive officer of Gift of Life. He said innovation, paired with close hospital partnerships, has expanded opportunities for families to create life-saving legacies.
Beyond organ transplantation, donor heroes also transformed lives through tissue donation. In 2025, Gift of Life coordinated tissue recovery from 2,704 donors, including a record 2,406 cornea donors, enabling 664 corneal transplants and restoring sight to patients nationwide. Overall, tissue donations supported care for more than 130,000 people, benefiting burn victims, orthopedic patients, and those requiring reconstructive surgery.
Gift of Life also expanded its research and data capabilities. The organization coordinated 789 organs for research, the most in its history, and implemented Copernicus data integration at multiple hospital systems to streamline donor information exchange and improve efficiency. Research partnerships included pediatric genetic studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, aimed at advancing understanding of disease development and treatment.
The year also marked the program’s 50th anniversary, culminating in the addition of more than 50,000 new registrants to the national donor registry through a sustained community outreach effort supported by more than 600 volunteers.
Gift of Life said continued investment in clinical training, technology, and family support remains central to its mission. In 2025 alone, staff completed more than 10,000 hours of structured education, and the organization expanded its organ recovery surgeon team to strengthen capacity across its hospital network.
As transplant demand continues to outpace supply nationwide, Gift of Life’s 2025 results underscore how advances in technology, training, and coordination are reshaping what is possible in organ donation — and setting new national standards in the process.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.