A record number of organ transplants were completed nationwide in 2023, but a surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville says more organ donors are needed.
Doctors did 46,632 transplants last year, up from 42,880 the year before, according to a news release this week from the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing, which serves as the nation’s transplant system under contract with the federal government.
Yet, the national waiting list for an organ transplant stands at more than 103,000 people, including 5,200 in Florida, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network. A total of 3,302 transplants took place in Florida last year.
Dr. Shennen Mao, a transplant surgeon with Mayo Clinic, said the number of people waiting for organs is increasing faster than the number of people added as possible donors.
“There continues to remain a strong need and many, many people that really can benefit from the gift of life,” Mao said.
