In the US, you must actively sign up to donate your organs

England changed to an organ donation opt-out system in May 2020

A law that went into effect in May 2020 in England changed the country's organ donation regulations, reflecting public support for organ donation. Now, adults are typically presumed to have agreed to donate their own organs upon death unless they declare they're refusing to donate organs (or their family opts them out).

You can sign up to donate your organs at this website

A single person who chooses to donate their organs upon death can provide organs for as many as eight people. You can sign up to become an organ donor or update your donation status information at this website, or you can typically sign up at your state's Department of Motor Vehicles. Many states allow individuals to declare which tissues and organs you consent to donate (i.e. organs, eyes, and skin tissue). It's recommended to discuss your decision with your family so they are aware of your wishes.

UNOS oversees the entire US organ donation system

The United Network for Organ Sharing is a private, nonprofit organization that manages much of the US organ donation and transplantation system under a federal contract. Medical urgency, blood type, organ size, and geography of the donor and recipient are all factors determining how someone who needs an organ is matched with someone who donated an organ.

You can sign up to donate your body to science

It's a separate process to donate your body for medical research; you usually must contact a whole-body donation program directly. Bodies can be donated for medical research, for forensic analysis research, or for medical students to work with as they learn anatomy and surgery, among other purposes. Learn more about numerous accredited organizations that provide human bodies, organs, and tissues to medical researchers and students.

'Donation after circulatory death' is on the rise

This occurs when a patient in a coma is on life support and family members agree to donate the organs. Watch this video about a 2025 New York Times investigation that identified 12 instances across nine states of bungled or premature attempts to retrieve organs from people whose families had authorized withdrawal of life support.

Organ donation isn't usually logistically possible if you die at home

Since organs need to be well-preserved for organ donation, with oxygen flowing through the body, internal organs often aren't viable for organ donation if someone dies at home. But some tissues—like eye corneas and skin tissue—may still be donated since they remain usable for a longer period without oxygen flow.

In 2024, the US had more organ transplants than ever before—besting the 2023 record

More than 48,000 organ transplants were performed in 2024, and about 46,630 were performed in 2023. These record highs are illustrated here as part of data from 1988 to partway through 2025. Kidneys, livers, and the heart remain the most common transplanted organs. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Living donations most commonly involve a kidney or part of a liver

In 2023, more than 6,900 transplants were made possible thanks to living donors. Living donation is when a living person donates an organ or part of an organ—usually one of their two kidneys or part of the liver, since that organ can regenerate in a healthy person. Much more rarely, living donors donate other organs. Living donations often occur when someone wants to ensure a loved one has certainty that they will quickly receive a needed organ.

Thousands of donated human kidneys are thrown away annually

Ten donated kidneys are thrown away daily even though thousands of people are awaiting a kidney transplant. Listen to a kidney doctor and a 2012 economics Nobel laureate discuss why this happens and how the organ transplantation system may be improved. Transplant centers are penalized for low transplant survival rates, they note, and that contributes to why hospitals may decide certain organs are just too risky to use.

Artificial intelligence may improve organ donation systems—and even organ health

Mayo Clinic transplant experts suggest that artificial intelligence could potentially improve organ donation systems in several ways, including better identifying patients most at risk for organ rejection, enhancing donor-recipient matching, and helping to avoid organ transplant needs by identifying health issues earlier.

Brain death is very rare—only 2% of hospital patients have brain death in the US

A peer-reviewed analysis examining US hospital billing code data from 2012 to 2016 concluded that the incidence of brain death is about 2% in the country. There was no available information indicating what proportion of those patients underwent organ donation.

How much your blood really costs

In the US, donating plasma twice a week can earn you $400 a month. But this system only works by targeting people who need the money most. Plasma clinics are placed in low-income zip codes, and frequent donation may increase health risks.

Selecting an embryo based on polygenic score is illegal in the UK, Israel, and swaths of Europe

Though their use for embryo selection is illegal in many locations, private clinics in the US may offer polygenic scores to inform embryo selection. The US Food and Drug Administration has not banned their use—instead the tests are regulated like supplements, meaning they are not regulated before they come to market but consumers can file complaints and then the agency may take action.

How did segregation in the US affect blood donations?

When the US established its first nationwide network of blood banks in 1941 with the hopes of restoring the dwindling reserves of military members, it was quick to emphasize blood donated by Black Americans wouldn't coat the veins of white servicemen. Historians say this policy was meant to appease white Southerners who believed Black blood was inferior to their own.This policy was leaked to the press that same year.

How credit scoring works outside the US

If you move outside the US, you won’t get to take your credit score with you. Credit scoring systems work differently in other countries. In the UK, for instance, being registered to vote improves your credit score.

In the US, 'organic food' is defined by the USDA

Food products can only be classified as “organic” if they meet the standards defined by the US Department of Agriculture. For crops, that means avoiding prohibited substances and genetic engineering, among other requirements. For livestock, that includes a minimum number of grazing days.

Unconditional birthright citizenship is rare outside the Americas

Around 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, grant automatic citizenship by birthplace. Elsewhere—especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa—citizenship typically follows jus sanguinis, based on parental descent rather than location of birth.

The US tips more service providers and leaves larger amounts than anywhere else globally

This map shows how other countries stack up to the US in terms of tipping norms, and could be helpful if you’re planning to budget for a trip abroad. It also indicates if tips are typically included in the bill in each country.

In 41 states, older Americans can opt out of jury duty, but not in federal court

As of 2024, 41 states offer age-based exemptions from state jury duty, with opt-out ages ranging from 65 in Mississippi and South Carolina to 80 in five states. None of these exemptions applies to federal court.

Voting by mail in the US

Voting by mail, also known as “absentee” voting, exists in every US state in various forms. Use Reuters’ graphic to understand voting by mail in the US. The practice of voting by mail dates back to the US Civil War when lawmakers wanted to...

Food companies usually issue recalls voluntarily and you can be automatically notified about them

Protecting yourself from food poisoning means staying on top of food recall announcements. Notices about these from the US government, which you can automatically receive after signing up at this link, note what products have been recalled by food companies. Companies alert the US Food and Drug Administration or the US Department of Agriculture when they issue recalls so the public can stay informed.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Nearly 70% of Muslim Americans always donate to charity during Ramadan

Zakat, one of the core pillars of Islam, directs Muslims to redistribute their wealth and give to the poor. This pillar is commonly honored during Ramadan and likely motivated by the practice of fasting, which encourages gratitude and compassion for those who are less fortunate. Other spikes in charitable giving are seen during the holiday of Eid al-Adha and at the end of the financial year.

Utah is the ‘greenest’ state to die in—determined by burial emissions and green options

This map ranks each US state based on accessible, sustainable burial services and recent emissions from people’s burial decisions. Utah, Colorado, Washington, and Vermont are ranked as the greenest options.

Most US fire departments are staffed entirely by volunteers, though they tend to serve smaller communities

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2024 registry, 70% of US fire departments are all volunteer, while 9.5% are fully staffed with paid employees. Volunteer departments are mainly found in rural and suburban areas, whereas most urban Americans are served by career or mixed departments.

The Smithsonian was first funded by a man who never visited the US

The Smithsonian Institution was established through a gift in the will of James Smithson, a British scientist who never visited America but left his fortune to establish an institution dedicated to the "increase and diffusion of knowledge."

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.