Rates of organ donation in the United States have increased steadily since 1988. In 2005, 7,593 deceased donors provided 21,215 organs for transplantation, and there were 6,896 living donors. But this growth lags far behind the increasing need. At the start of 2006, more than 90,000 people were waiting to receive a solid organ (kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, heart, or intestine). More than 70 percent of those individuals on the current transplant waiting list are waiting for a kidney transplant.

After examining a wide range of proposals to increase rates of organ donation, the report Organ Donation: Opportunities for Action urges federal agencies, nonprofit groups, and others to boost opportunities for people to record their decisions to donate, strengthen efforts to educate the public about the benefits of organ donation, and continue to improve donation systems.

The IOM committee also supported initiatives to increase donations from people whose deaths are the result of irreversible cardiac failure, but said that the nation is not yet ready to enact policies that presume consent to donate unless individuals opt out. Financial incentives--including direct payments, coverage of funeral expenses, and charitable contributions--should not be used to increase donation rates.

The committee emphasized that all members of society have a stake in an adequate supply of organs for patients in need, because each individual is a potential recipient as well as a potential donor.

The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and The Greenwall Foundation.