The United States recorded its millionth organ transplant on Friday afternoon, a historic milestone for the medical procedure that saved thousands of lives.
The record-breaking achievement was confirmed at 12:50 p.m. ET by the United Network for Organ Sharing, a non-profit organization that operates the only organ procurement and transplant network in the country, ABC News reported.
It is unclear which member the millionth record was and details of the patient are unknown at this time.
The first successful organ transplant In 1954 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston when doctors transplanted a kidney from 23-year-old Ronald Herrick into his twin brother Richard, who was suffering from chronic kidney failure.
The lead surgeon, Dr. Joseph Murray, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his role in the operation.
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Until the early 1980s, the number of transplants each year remained low. However, success in transplanting organs other than the kidneys – such as the heart, liver and pancreas – and the emergence of anti-rejection drugs for the transplanted organ has led to an increase in transplants, according to the United Nations Office of Population Activities.
Since then, transplants have become a more common procedure.
More than 500,000 transplants have been performed since 2007, and in 2021, more than 41,000 transplants were performed, the highest number ever recorded and double that of 25 years ago.
Although more patients are undergoing transplants than ever before, this does not mean that the agency is without its flaws.
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Approximately 5,000 people die waiting for transplant lists every year. A study was published today in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology In October 2020, it was found that many kidneys from donors in the United States are being discarded unnecessarily.
But organ donors and recipients hope that by sharing their stories, they will inspire people to donate and help reduce those long waiting lists.
When Nicholas Peters was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2020, his mother, Maria Clarke, honored his desire to be an organ donor.
His heart went to Jean-Paul Marco, a sixth grader in Arkansas, who had been suffering from heart disease for years.
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The families have met since then and have been close ever since. Clark, of Madisonville, Louisiana, was even able to hear her son’s heart beating in Marceau with a stethoscope.
“This is why we’re telling our story so people can sign up to be donors,” Marco’s mother, Candice Armstrong, said in a statement.
Clarke added, “We’re all leaving here. You have to talk to your family and tell them you want your members to go on, to extend the lives of others. I want people to know that Nick was loved, he was the element of love, always helping, and just like him is to keep giving and spreading love.”
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