Donation After Circulatory Death Surges to 49% of U.S. Organ Donor Pool, Revolutionizing Transplant Availability

Organ donation after circulatory death (DCD) now accounts for 49% of the US donor pool. Learn how NYU Langone research and new tech are saving thousands of lives.

By: AXL Media

Published: Feb 27, 2026, 3:56 AM EST

Source: The information in this article was sourced from NYU Langone Health

The Evolution of the Deceased-Donor Landscape

The paradigm of organ transplantation in the United States has undergone a fundamental shift over the past 25 years. Traditionally, the vast majority of donated organs were recovered from patients declared brain dead, a state where the heart continues to beat and provide oxygen to tissues. However, a new analysis led by NYU Langone Health, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that donation after circulatory death (DCD) has risen from just 2% of the donor pool in 2000 to 49% in 2025. This transition is essential to addressing the chronic organ shortage that currently leaves over 100,000 patients awaiting transplants.

Understanding Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD)

DCD involves donors who do not meet the strict criteria for brain death but have suffered non-survivable injuries and cannot be sustained without life support. In these instances, families may choose to withdraw life-sustaining treatment in an operating room. If the heart stops beating within a specific timeframe, surgical teams can recover organs for transplantation. Historically, DCD was less common because organs can suffer damage when they are briefly deprived of oxygenated blood during the dying process. However, recent medical innovations have mitigated these risks, allowing DCD organs to become a primary source for kidneys, livers, and increasingly, hearts and lungs.

Technological Catalysts: Perfusion and Preservation

The dramatic increase in DCD utilization is largely credited to "perfusion" technologies that limit tissue damage after the heart stops. Normothermic regional perfusion allows clinicians to temporarily restore blood flow to organs within the donor's body after death is declared. Additionally, machine perfusion devices can pump nutrient- and oxygen-rich fluids through an organ after it has been removed, essentially "recharging" the tissue before it is transplanted into a recipient. These advances have not only improved outcomes but have also allowed surgeons to accept organs from older donors or those with health conditions like diabetes that would have been excluded in previous decades.