Western Pa. sets record for organ, tissue, cornea donations for 5th straight year

The Center for Organ Recovery & Education on Monday announced that the Western Pennsylvania area broke its record for the number of lives saved and healed through organ, tissue and cornea donations for a fifth consecutive year.

There were 404 organ donors in 2023 in an area including Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, N.Y., according to CORE. Those organ donations saved the lives of 928 people nationwide.

That number reflects a 21% increase in organ donors compared to CORE’s previous record, the organization said.

CORE also reported 840 cornea donors and 1,481 tissue donors in 2023, numbers the organization said were “unprecedented.” Because of those cornea and tissue donations, 980 people regained sight through corneal transplantation and 110,000 received tissue transplants, including bone and ligament repairs, skin grafts and heart valve replacements.

CORE in 2023 recorded 503 kidney transplants — a 10% increase from the prior year — as well as 220 liver transplants — a 20% jump from the year before. It also saw 87 heart transplants, 72 lung transplants, 10 pancreas transplants and two intestinal transplants.

“On behalf of all at CORE, I’m deeply thankful to our donors and their families for saying ‘yes’ to organ donation in 2023,” CORE President and CEO Susan Stuart said. “Their generosity provided nearly 1,000 people with a second chance at life.”