Friday afternoon, the U.S. reported its one millionth organ transplant, a landmark achievement for the medical operation that has saved millions of lives.
The United Network for Organ Sharing verified the milestone achievement at 12:50 p.m. ET.
In 1954, surgeons at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston performed the first successful organ transplant, transplanting a kidney from 23-year-old Ronald Herrick into his identical twin brother, Richard, who was suffering from severe renal failure.
Dr. Joseph Murray, the chief surgeon, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his involvement in the treatment.
Since 2007, almost 500,000 transplants have been done, with over 41,000 transplants occurring in 2021, the greatest amount ever recorded and twice as many as occurred 25 years ago.
Despite the fact that more people are receiving transplants than ever before, the organization is not without flaws.