Asian American Health

Organ Transplants and Asian Americans

  • Of the total candidates currently waiting for a transplant, 8.2% were non-Hispanic Asian Americans. Non-Hispanic Asian Americans received 5.8% of the organ transplants performed in 2024.1
  • In 2024, non-Hispanic Asian Americans comprised 3.1% of organ donors. Of the organs recovered from non-Hispanic Asian Americans, 43.2% came from living donors as compared to 30.0% of the organs recovered from non-Hispanic whites.1

Organ Transplants

U.S. Transplant Waiting List – Candidates by Race/Ethnicity
OrganAll Candidates# of Non-Hispanic Asian CandidatesNon-Hispanic Asian % of All Candidates# of Non-Hispanic White CandidatesNon-Hispanic White % of All Candidates
All Organs114,9979,4528.244,27838.5
Kidney97,5698,6918.934,37035.2
Liver9,4564604.95,92762.7
Heart3,605992.71,90052.7
Lung938424.558662.5
Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of January 12, 2025.
Transplants in the United States by Recipient Race/Ethnicity, 2024
NumberPercentage of Total 2024 Transplants
Non-Hispanic Asian2,8105.8
Non-Hispanic White23,62649.1
All Races/Ethnicities48,137100.0
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of January 12, 2025.

Organ Donation

U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, 2024
Donor Type# of All Donors# of Non-Hispanic Asian DonorsNon-Hispanic Asian % of All Donors# of Non-Hispanic White DonorsNon-Hispanic White % of All Donors
Living7,0303254.64,79468.2
Deceased16,9884282.511,17965.8
Total24,0187533.115,97366.5
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of January 12, 2025.
U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, Living vs Deceased, 2024
Donor Type# of Non-Hispanic Asian Donors% of All Non-Hispanic Asian Donors# of Non-Hispanic White Donors% of All Non-Hispanic White Donors
Living32543.24,79430.0
Deceased42856.811,17970.0
Total753100.015,973100.0
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of January 12, 2025.

1 HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of January 12, 2025. (back)