Need for Organ Donors Is Soaring in NJ

A new study from HealthTestingCenters.com finds New Jersey ranked 18th in the nation for organ transplants last year, with 12% of people who need a donated organ waiting at least five years.

The study was put together with numbers from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It shows wait list numbers are skyrocketing in the past few decades, from less than 30,000 in 1992 to 120,000 now.

New Jersey Sharing Network President and CEO Joe Roth says demand for organs is constantly changing, from aging Baby Boomers in need of heart and kidney transplants, to younger people with liver and kidney diseases ad diabetes.

The organs with the highest transplant demand are kidneys, liver and heart. Wait times for Type O blood recipients can be longer than four years.

Roth says the good news is they are on track to set an all-time record for the number of donors in New Jersey.

The study also made the point that 2,200 organ donors were people who died from drug overdoses, 13.4% of all donors.

Joe Cutter is the Senior News Anchor on New Jersey 101.5