Heart Transplant Waiting List by State 2026

With various conditions, the heart transplant waiting list is extremely long, and there is a surplus of active patients wishing to receive their transplant. There are usually about 50,000 people waiting for a transplant; many may be deceased before they get their new heart.

2021 was a record-setting year regarding heart transplants. Three thousand eight hundred seventeen heart transplants, including 513 pediatric transplants, were performed nationwide. This was the tenth year in a row that surgeons set a new record for heart transplants.

States and Regions with The Most Additions to Waiting List

Although there is a lack of available data on a state level, most organ transplant waiting list data is available by region. This is because many suitable donors can be found outside the state, meaning that there is an inherent mismatch between the supply and demand of a state.

Notably, the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions have had the most additions to their waiting list for heart transplants and donorship. It is also important to remember that someone can be rendered inactive, meaning that they are currently not within 4 hours of their hospital while still on the waiting list. Inactivity can also mean that the severity has gone down. Only those who are active will be given priority on the waitlist.

Of note, the Mid-Atlantic region has had the most additions to the waitlist, largely due to the metropolitan areas. This includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. They also have the highest amount of inactivity, as it scales with volume.

States and Regions with The Least Additions to Waiting List

The Northwest and Northeast regions enjoy the shortest wait time for a heart transplant and receive the least number of additions to the waitlist. This could be due to many factors, including better healthcare systems. Areas such as New York, Washington, Maine, and Vermont have some of the best healthcare facilities in the country, meaning they can understand issues before they become more serious and require a transplant. Some states also have a much smaller population, such as Rhode Island, meaning that the overall number added to the waitlist may be smaller.

Certain other factors skew the results. Massachusetts and Maryland are extremely well-known for their contribution to the STEM field. Because of this, their waitlists are some of the highest in the country, as their dedication to the field naturally brings in more patients.

Heart transplant criteria also vary greatly, and there are many differences between one medical institute to the other. Certain facilities may require that the person is of certain physical and age-related parameters. For example, some programs do not allow those over the age of 70 to have a BMI greater than 30-35 or allow transplants for those with a history of cancer. Due to the nature of the shortage of heart transplants throughout the country, programs must also be selected for those with a greater chance of recovery after a successful operation.