Irene Kim, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center, partially credits the increase in liver transplants to the use of machine perfusion, a technology that circulates oxygen-rich, nutrient-rich, blood-based solution through donor organs until transplantation. Machine perfusion reduces graft dysfunction, allowing organs to be viable longer and improving physicians’ assessments of the organs ahead of transplantation—all of which has served to increase donor organ availability, Kim said.

A willingness to take on the most complex cases also helped drive the increase in lung transplants, according to Kim, as Cedars-Sinai is known for accepting high-risk cases that had been previously turned away by other institutions.

“We are committed to staying on the leading edge of transplant technology to ensure the best results for our patients, with survival outcomes that continue to meet or exceed the national average,” Kim said. “The more organs we can transplant, the more patients can receive a second chance at life. It’s a privilege to not only help these patients, but also to honor the donors who gave the ultimate gift of life.”

According to published data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), 49,065 transplants occurred in the U.S. in 2025—more than in any other year. With records continuing to be set year over year, the OPTN has set an ambitious nationwide goal of 60,000 deceased donor transplants annually by the end of 2026.

New Records in Liver and Lung Transplants, Living Kidney Donors

The Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute is the largest heart transplant center by volume in California, with clinical and surgical teams performing 114 adult heart transplants in 2025. The team, led by Joanna Chikwe, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fardad Esmailian, MD, surgical director of the Heart Transplant Program, and Jon Kobashigawa, MD, director of the Heart Transplant Program in the Department of Cardiology, has maintained an average of more than 100 heart transplants each year for the last 13 years, a current record in the U.S.

Surgical Director Dominick Megna, MD, and Medical Director Reinaldo Rampolla, MD, led the lung transplant team to perform 93 lung transplants in 2025—the most ever at Cedars-Sinai—surpassing its previous record of 88 in 2024. The Lung Transplant Program in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai continues to be the largest by volume in California and, in 2025, earned a place as a top 10 center by volume in the U.S.

The Liver Transplant Program also reached new milestones. The team, led by Kim, as surgical director, and Alexander Kuo, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program, performed 145 liver transplants in 2025, exceeding the 2024 record of 136 transplants.

The Kidney Transplant Program team, led by Stanley Jordan, MD, medical director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s Human Leukocyte Antigen and Transplant Immunology Laboratory, and Tsuyoshi Todo, MD, surgical director, completed 324 transplants in 2025, including one pancreas-kidney transplant.

Notably, the team performed 80 living donor kidney transplants in 2025, setting a record for the number of living donor kidney transplants performed at Cedars-Sinai, with a more than 15% increase over the previously held record volume of 69 in 2013. This program, led by Steven Wisel, MD, and Reiad Najjar, MD, has transformed into a completely robotic surgical program.

“These achievements are a testament to the hardworking team at the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center,” said Kim, the Esther and Mark Schulman Chair in Surgery and Transplantation Medicine. “But none of these lifesaving procedures would be possible without the altruism of organ donors and their families. We are tremendously grateful to those who give the gift of life through organ donation.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: After Lung Transplant, a Return to Running

Cedars-Sinai is among the top 10 transplant centers in the U.S. by volume, according to published data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), and is known for accepting complex, high-risk cases.

“Behind every transplant is a patient who desperately waited for a chance at life,” said Irene Kim, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center. “It is the remarkable generosity of organ donors and their families that allowed our transplant teams to give 682 patients the chance to have longer and healthier lives.”

Cedars-Sinai’s organ transplant program has experienced a 64% year-over-year increase since 2017, when 415 transplants were performed. Over the last decade, its transplant volume has increased by 84%, from 371 in 2014 to 682 in 2024.

Multiple drivers are behind the upward trend in organ transplants at Cedars-Sinai and nationwide, said Kim, the Esther and Mark Schulman Chair in Surgery and Transplantation Medicine.

“Machine perfusion techniques are allowing us to use donor organs that may previously have been less ideal for transplant,” Kim said. “The technology helps preserve organs before transplantation, lengthening viability, improving assessment of organ function and contributing to improved patient outcomes.”

According to the OPTN, 48,149 transplants occurred in the U.S. in 2024—more than in any other year.

But the need for more organs remains significant: More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the organ transplant waiting list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit organization that manages the U.S. organ transplant system.

Multiple collaborations among various sectors are underway to increase organ donations in an effort to reach a new national goal: 60,000 deceased donor transplants annually in the U.S. by the end of 2026.  

New Records in Heart, Liver and Lung Transplants

The Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai is home to the largest thoracic organ transplant program by volume in California and the second-largest heart transplant center by volume in the U.S. 

The team, including Joanna Chikwe, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fardad Esmailian, MD, surgical director of the Heart Transplant Program, and Jon Kobashigawa, MD, director of the Heart Transplant Program in the Department of Cardiology, led the clinical and surgical teams that performed 137 adult heart transplants, including three heart-lung transplants, surpassing the 2023 record of 132. 

The lung transplant team, led by surgical director Dominick Megna, MD, and medical director Reinaldo Rampolla, MD, also reached a new milestone in 2024 with 88 lungs transplanted (including three heart-lung transplants), up from 82 in 2023. More than a quarter were completed using minimally invasive procedures—2- to 3-inch incisions that lead to reduced pain, recovery times and complications after surgery. Nine percent of minimally invasive lung transplant surgeries at Cedars-Sinai—more than that of any other program in the world—were robotic-assisted.

The liver transplant team, led by Kim, surgical director of the Liver Transplant Program, and Alexander Kuo, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program, performed 136 liver transplants in 2024, exceeding the 2021 record of 113 transplants.

The Kidney Transplant Program team, led by Stanley Jordan, MD, medical director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s Human Leukocyte Antigen and Transplant Immunology Laboratory, and Tsuyoshi Todo, MD, surgical director, completed 324 transplants in 2024, including five pancreas-kidney transplants. In 2023, the program set a record with 336 kidney transplants performed.

Kim emphasized that the expertise and dedication of Cedars-Sinai’s multidisciplinary transplant teams—physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physician assistants, dietitians, technicians, perfusionists, researchers, administrative professionals and others—are what enable transplants for so many patients.

“They are the ultimate caregivers,” Kim said. “And it is the organ donors and their families who represent ultimate altruism. They are the foundation that gives others an opportunity at life.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: The Wait for a New Heart

As of June, Kobashigawa became president of the society, leading an organization of more than 5,000 clinicians and other healthcare professionals who work in the field of organ transplantation. His responsibilities include working to ensure the organization fulfills its strategic vision of advancing the field of transplantation and improving patient care by promoting research, education, advocacy, organ donation and service to the community.

Kobashigawa will also represent the American Society of Transplantation in discussions with government agencies and policymakers about organ transplant legislation.

“Dr. Kobashigawa’s experience and passion make him the ideal person to serve as a national and international voice in all matters related to organ transplantation,” said Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, executive director of the Smidt Heart Institute and the Mark S. Siegel Family Foundation Distinguished Professor. “He has already advanced this field greatly through his clinical work and scientific discoveries and continues to be a strong advocate for standardizing decisions and processes related to transplantation.”

Kobashigawa was instrumental in expanding the Comprehensive Transplant Program at Cedars-Sinai, one of the largest transplant programs in the world.

“Dr. Kobashigawa was instrumental in the development of our world-renowned medical and surgical program, known for changing the lives of patients previously told they were out of options,” said Christine Albert, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Cardiology and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Distinguished Chair in Cardiology.

An expert in diagnosing heart failure, Kobashigawa also is director of the Advanced Heart Disease Division in the Smidt Heart Institute. He evaluates patients for heart transplants and medically manages their health before and after transplantation. Kobashigawa has been part of seminal research studies that have led to the use of novel therapies to prevent and treat organ rejection.  

In addition to his clinical and research expertise, Kobashigawa is known for developing standards for the field of transplantation. He has organized 17 national and international conferences that have led to guidelines on critical issues such as organ allocation, organ failure diagnosis and organ rejection.

Kobashigawa has held several leadership positions in transplantation organizations. He is a past president of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation and past chair of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Committee on Heart Failure and Transplantation. He also has served as a member of several United Network for Organ Sharing committees. He has published more than 480 peer-reviewed research publications and was recognized with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

“It is an honor to lead the American Society of Transplantation, a prestigious organization with which I have long been involved,” said Kobashigawa, the DSL/Thomas D. Gordon Chair in Heart Transplantation Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. “I look forward to working with esteemed colleagues to advance transplantation policy, research and public education.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Transplant Saves Bishop at the Heart of His Community

Known for leading-edge therapies and taking on the most complex patients, Cedars-Sinai transplant teams also completed a triple organ transplant in 2023, performing a successful heart, liver and kidney transplant during a 20-hour surgery.

“Genuine compassion, commitment and teamwork enable us to perform these lifesaving operations,” said Irene Kim, MD, the Esther and Mark Schulman Chair in Surgery and Transplantation Medicine and director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center. “We are so fortunate to be able to offer our patients lifesaving treatments through donors’ gifts of life.”

There currently are more than 100,000 people in the U.S. on the organ transplant waiting list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit organization that manages the U.S. organ transplant system. About 20,000 of those are in California.

In 2023, Cedars-Sinai was the ninth-largest transplant center by volume in the U.S., according to current published data from the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network.

The Comprehensive Transplant Center and Smidt Heart Institute reported excellent patient outcomes, with one-year survival after transplantation at 91% or greater and lung, liver and kidney survival exceeding the national average.

The Kidney Transplant Program team, led by Stanley Jordan, MD, medical director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s Human Leukocyte Antigen and Transplant Immunology Laboratory, demonstrated the largest leap. The team performed 336 kidney transplants in 2023, including 15 pediatric transplants. The previous record was 298.

The liver transplant team, led by Nicholas Nissen, MD, surgical director of the Liver Transplant Program and director of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, and Alexander Kuo, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program, performed 104 liver transplants in 2023. The 2022 figure was 102.

The Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute is home to one of the largest thoracic organ transplant programs in the U.S. Led by Jon Kobashigawa, MD, director of Advanced Heart Disease and the Heart Transplant Program in the Smidt Heart Institute, and Fardad Esmailian, MD, surgical director of the Heart Transplant Program, the team performed 130 adult heart transplants and two heart-lung transplants in 2023.

The lung transplant team, led by surgical director Dominick Megna, MD, and medical director Reinaldo Rampolla, MD, also reached a new milestone in 2023 with 80 lungs transplanted, placing the program among the top 10 of U.S. lung transplant programs.

The Cedars-Sinai multidisciplinary transplant teams include physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physician assistants, dietitians, technicians, perfusionists, researchers, administrative professionals and others committed to successful organ transplants.

“So many people work together to create these lifesaving programs, and the contributions of our donors, family and friends who support our transplant team are profound,” Kim said. “They step in to help our patients and their caregivers make it through a transplant, help each other when things get busy and offer our patients and team members emotional and physical support when needed. That is truly inspiring.” 

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: 7 Myths About Organ Donation