Scientists are trying to resurrect mostly dead organs—here’s why

In the United States alone, more than 6,000 patients perish waiting for an organ transplant and every year 700,000 people die due to end-stage organ disease. The World Health Organization estimates that only 10 percent of people worldwide who need an organ transplant are able to get one; yet thousands of donated organs end up in the trash every year because they aren’t preserved immediately. In 2012, for example, while 2,421 hearts and 1,634 lungs were transplanted in the U.S., 5,723 donor hearts and 6,510 donor lungs were wasted.