National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Practices (NSODAP)

The Division of Transplantation (DoT), within the Health Systems Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the primary federal entity responsible for oversight of the solid organ and blood stem cell transplant systems in the United States and for initiatives to increase organ donor registration and donation. Sponsorship of a national survey on the American public’s donation attitudes and practices is one of the services that DoT provides for the larger donation community, consistent with its legal authority to establish a public education and awareness program (Section 377A of the Public Health Service Act, 42 USC 274f-1). Patients in need of organ transplantation in the US face a longstanding critical shortage of organs. Approximately 103,000 Americans were on the waiting list for transplantation in 2022, but only 42,000 transplants were performed—meeting only two-fifths of the national need. While this represents an increase in the number of transplants performed in 2021, the organ shortage remains. Understanding public attitudes about organ donation and how the attitudes change over time is critical to addressing organ shortage through public awareness and education efforts. Data from the National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Practices (NSODAP) is essential for planning, targeting, and implementing outreach efforts to increase public donation commitment as well as for tracking the results of such efforts over time. Members of the donation and transplantation community also use the findings of these national surveys in their outreach and research efforts.

The latest form for National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Practices (NSODAP) expires 2027-08-31 and can be found here.