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U.S. hits healthcare milestone: 1 million organ transplants

The millionth transplant was confirmed around 1 p.m. Friday but we do not have any details on the patient at this time.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The U.S. recently hit a historic milestone... one million organ transplants.

The millionth transplant was confirmed around 1 p.m. Friday but we do not have any details on the patient at this time.

The first successful transplant was performed in 1954 in Boston and we have come a long way, especially in the last few years.

More than 500,000 transplants were performed from 2007 to 2021. 

Yet the nation’s transplant system is at a crossroads. More people than ever are getting new organs — a record 41,356 last year alone. At the same time, critics blast the system for policies and outright mistakes that waste organs and cost lives.

The anger boiled over last month in a Senate committee hearing where lawmakers blamed the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that holds a government contract to run the transplant system, for cumbersome organ-tracking and poor oversight.

RELATED: US counts millionth organ transplant while pushing for more

Dr. Gregg Silverman joined First Edition to talk more about organ transplants and some common misconceptions about being a donor. You can watch the interview in full in the above video player. 

RELATED: Coastal Bend Blood Center goes 'hunting for donors'

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