More than 1,200 lives saved by Indiana organ donors in 2025
More than 1,200 lives were saved in Indiana in 2025 thanks to organ donors, according to a community announcement from the Indiana Donor Network.
The organization coordinated 1,214 organ transplants made possible by 1,379 donated organs from 467 donors in 2025. The organization also facilitated the recovery of 1,558 tissues from 15,734 donors, which helped save and heal lives and restore sight.
“Our utilization of the latest technologies available to make more donated organs stronger and more viable for successful transplantation significantly increased our abilities to save lives,” President and CEO Kellie Tremain said in the announcement.
Indiana Donor Network’s 2025 achievements
The Indiana Donor Network says it achieved several milestones in 2025. It facilitated 18,434 interactions with donor families through after-care support and provided programs, grief and counseling services, and support to 3,102 donor family members.
A total of 960,934 Indiana residents said “yes” to becoming a donor, bringing the total to more than 4.5 million across the state.
There were 252 organ and tissue donation advocates who volunteered more than 19,194 hours while 50 new advocates were added throughout Indiana.
The network reached 205,983 Hoosiers through community presentations that offered education about organ and tissue donation and encouraged attendees to sign up to be donors. It also led 756 middle and high school presentations, reaching more than 52,844 students throughout Indiana.
The organization raised $1.1 million in 2025, and a new Indiana Donor Network Donor Memorial was installed in Indianapolis, honoring the lifesaving legacies of Hoosier organ and tissue donors.
The Indiana Donor Network also achieved Tier 1-A status in 2025, the highest ranking an organ procurement organization can receive in the U.S. by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Over 1,400 Hoosiers still await a transplant
Although more than 48,000 organ transplants were performed in the U.S. in 2025, more than 105,000 people in the U.S. are currently waiting for an organ transplant, including more than 1,400 Indiana residents.
Every day, 17 people die waiting while every eight minutes, and another person is added to the list.
One organ donor can save eight lives. One tissue donor can heal more than 75 others. One cornea donor can restore sight to two people.
Despite age or medical history, anyone can sign up to be an organ donor. There are five ways that Hoosiers can sign up to become an organ donor:
- They can say “yes” when conducting business at their local Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch.
- They can sign up online at DonateLifeIndiana.org.
- They can say “yes” when they apply online for a hunting, fishing or trapping license through the state Department of Natural Resources.
- They can sign up when applying for or renewing their professional license to work in Indiana through the state’s Professional Licensing Agency.
- They can say “yes” through the health app on their iPhone or iPad.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, [email protected], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
link
