New England Donor Services Announces Record Number of Life-Saving Organ Transplants in 2025

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2026--

New England Donor Services (NEDS) today announced a record number of life-saving organ transplants last year from deceased organ donors in New England. In 2025, NEDS coordinated organ donations from 640 deceased donors resulting in 1,692 life-saving transplants. This record number of organ transplants represents the fifth year of consecutive growth in transplants and places NEDS among the nation’s top three organ procurement organizations (OPOs) by donor and transplant volume. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the number of life-saving organ transplants from New England organ donors by a total of 65 percent.

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NEDS also coordinated the recovery of donated tissue from 1,861 donors, a record year for tissue donation in New England. Each donor can donate multiple tissues including cornea, bone, skin, heart valves, and other tissues used in necessary medical procedures to heal and transform lives. Tissue donated through NEDS is used in over 100,000 tissue transplants each year.

“Because of donors, courageous families, and the unwavering dedication of NEDS’ staff, generosity becomes legacy and hope lives on for thousands of transplant recipients – turning loss into healing and the gift of donation into life,” said Alexandra K. Glazier, President and CEO of New England Donor Services (NEDS).

While the number of organ donors remained steady during 2025 compared to the previous year, NEDS was nonetheless able to increase the number of life-saving transplants resulting from those donors by 8 percent. One reason was the expanded use of cutting-edge organ perfusion devices and techniques. The adoption of abdominal normothermic regional perfusion (A-NRP) – combined with transportable, ex vivo organ perfusion devices – improves the function of donated organs especially from older and/or more medically complex donors. Glazier noted, “Previously, these organs may not have been accepted for transplant, but now they are used routinely to the benefit of transplant patients and offers the opportunity for donation to more families.”

“My five-year-old son, Lincoln, now has a second chance at life thanks to his life-saving heart transplant,” said Ashley Stanger, a resident of East Haddam, CT, whose son spent 327 consecutive days at the hospital to be treated for dilated cardiomyopathy. “Lincoln received a new heart in March 2025, thanks to the generosity of his deceased donor. We extend our deepest gratitude to Lincoln’s donor. Thanks to this selfless choice, Lincoln is now able to attend kindergarten, spend time with his younger sister, and dreams of becoming a firefighter one day."

“I am incredibly grateful and humbled to have received the gift of life,” said Sean Moore, who lives in Grafton, MA, and received a kidney transplant in July 2025. “I am thankful beyond words to my deceased organ donor who selflessly saved lives by choosing to become a donor. My transplant has given me renewed health and the opportunity to spend many more years with my wife and three children.”

Looking forward to 2026 and the anticipated disruption of the donation and transplant system resulting from inaccurate and destructive performance metrics at the federal level, Glazier continued, “Poorly designed federal regulatory metrics may force the closure of up to half of the community-based non-profits coordinating organ donation for transplant in the United States with no clear plan for how the system will deliver services for these areas. Despite this looming uncertainty, NEDS is positioned to continue providing the stable, high-quality performance it is known for as a national leader in the field, which is necessary to ensure life-saving donation and transplants remain reliable in the New England region. We urge policymakers in Washington, D.C. to take the steps necessary to swiftly reform and modernize the current regulatory structure that could threaten patients that are on the organ donation wait list.”

One person can save up to eight lives as an organ donor and heal 75 people as a tissue donor.

Residents of New England can register as donors on their driver’s license, through the Apple iPhone health app or on the national Donate Life Donor Registry at www.RegisterMe.org.

About New England Donor Services (NEDS)
New England Donor Services is a leading nonprofit organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the eastern counties of Vermont, and Bermuda. Co-founded in 1968 by Nobel Laureate Dr. Joseph Murray, who performed the world’s first successful organ transplant, today NEDS works with thousands of donors and donor families who have generously made the decision to give the gift of life. The organization’s highly skilled staff medically screen referrals for potential donations from more than 200 hospitals across the region and lead all donor authorization discussions with families. NEDS also allocates organs according to the national transplant waiting list and coordinates their transport to ensure the right organs get to the right patients at the right time. Learn more at https://neds.org/ or follow us on LinkedIn or on X at @NEDonorServices.

In 2025, NEDS coordinated organ donations from 640 deceased donors resulting in a record 1,692 life-saving transplants. Since 2020, NEDS has increased the number of life-saving organ transplants from New England organ donors by a total of 65 percent.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Easter is around the corner, and it's time to start thinking about how to decorate your eggs.

Whether you're dying eggs for your table spread or planning to hide them for an egg hunt, it's important to follow food safety guidelines to minimize germs and maximize your egg quality.

Eggs are remarkably long lasting, so there needn't be a giant rush to eat them.

“Stores usually do turn over eggs pretty quickly, so the recommendations is you should consume eggs three to five weeks after you purchase them,” said Kara Lynch, food safety educator with Michigan State University Extension.

There is also a benefit in letting eggs age just a bit, as older eggs can be easier to peel. That's because eggs shrink over time within the shell, creating an air pocket between the egg and the shell.

Egg processors clean eggs before they reach store shelves, but it also is important to thoroughly cook eggs to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, especially salmonella. That bacteria lives naturally in the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts of chickens, said Kimberly Baker, associate extension specialist at Clemson University.

To cook your eggs, place them in a saucepan, fill it with water and bring it to a boil. After that, put the lid on, turn the heat off and let it sit for about 12 minutes. Some also favor turning down the heat and simmering eggs.

You can vary the time in the hot water depending on a desire for harder boiled or slightly creamier eggs, but the yolk should be pretty solid to be safe. Boiling them for too long can risk creating green sulfur development on the outside of the yolk.

After that, Don Schaffner, food science department chair at Rutgers University, said there are two options.

You can run your eggs under cold water to reduce the temperature. From there, you can color them right away or place them back in the fridge until you're ready. Or, after you've boiled them, you can let them air dry until they've cooled.

The boiling process sanitizes the eggs, and as long as they are kept out of water, Schaffner said, they will remain safe to eat.

“You’ve boiled the egg, you’ve gotten rid of any bacteria that might be in the egg. And now you’ve air-cooled it, right? So it’s going to cool more slowly, it’s probably going to cook more,” he said. “But most importantly, you don’t have to worry about any bacteria from the water getting internalized into the egg.”

Either artificial or natural food dye is OK as long as the dye label says it's food grade. For those keeping track, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been updating its guidance and regulations regarding certain dyes.

And no, it's not a problem if the dye seeps through the shell.

“Eggs kind of naturally have their own abilities to absorb only so much,” Baker said.

As you're decorating the eggs and have the eggs outside, she suggested keeping your eggs in an ice bath, so they can stay at a cooler temperature while you're decorating.

Eggs should generally be kept at or below 40 degrees (4.4 degrees Celsius) to minimize the risk of contaminants.

Cooked eggs that weren't air-cooled should spend no more than two hours at room temperature. And that's cumulative, including the time spent decorating and the time spent hiding during the Easter egg hunt.

But if it's particularly warm, then that two-hour rule may be shortened to one hour, Lynch said.

Hard boiled eggs are generally good for about a week in the fridge.

Be careful with your eggs as you handle them.

One of the biggest concerns is making sure your eggs haven't cracked during an Easter egg hunt, making them vulnerable to contaminants. And once the egg has been hard boiled, there's no way to kill bacteria that get inside, Baker said.

“We don’t want to be putting them in the soil or in lawns where pets have gone to the bathroom,” she said.

Whether the eggs are hidden outdoors or in a corner of your home, you should rinse them in cool water before you peel them. And wash your hands, too, just in case the eggs have picked up something.

If the Easter egg hunt means your eggs will be at room temperature for longer than two hours, experts recommended using plastic eggs for the hunt instead of real ones to minimize food safety risk.

“If it’s an outdoor Easter egg hunt at any time, I would say go with the plastic eggs and be safe,” Baker said. “And use your dyed Easter eggs as your centerpiece on your table or your buffet, and enjoy them that way.”

FILE - Painted Easter eggs hang from an Easter Tree in Saalfeld, central Germany, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)