Nearly one in two US adults is a registered organ donor. Yet, transplant waiting lists continue to grow, making organ recovery and transplant a vital process. There are meaningful gains to be made across the kidney donation, recovery and transplantation landscape, according to a January 2021 study conducted by Oliver Wyman. In aggregate, this study details how to accelerate the current rate of annual improvement in deceased donor kidney recovery and transplantation. It also highlights how improvement opportunities like improving authorization rates and increasing the pool of recoverable donors can maximize the opportunity.

Small margins of enhancement can potentially drive big changes. Improving the utilization of currently available kidneys, for instance, by just five percent could result in nearly 1,100 more annual kidney transplants. On this note, our research specifically highlights two key strategies to leverage new opportunities. One is through sustaining the existing and effective OPO performance improvement programs. The second is by the implementation of new system-wide initiatives to drive the increase in acceptance and transplantation by transplant programs of kidneys recovered and offered by OPOs. Our research also emphasizes some key considerations for transplant programs, including the importance of specifying and making public their inclusion and exclusion patient acceptance criteria. Our analysis also stresses some critical considerations for payers and regulators related to organ offer acceptance and expected transplant rates. Changes like these will hopefully drive more deceased donor organ recoveries and transplantations in the future.

This study was conducted in partnership with Hogan Lovells and its client, a work group of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs). For more information, read our full report: