Hispanic Heritage Month reports highlight awareness, action on organ transplant disparities

Editor's Note

Raising awareness of misinformation and encouraging people to register as organ donors are among the ways organizations throughout the country are highlighting organ transplant disparities during Hispanic Heritage month, which ends October 15.

Citing data from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Healthcare Brew reports that only 36% of Hispanic or Latino transplant candidates received one in 2023, compared to 58% of non-Hispanic white candidates.

Health literacy was cited as a significant barrier by sources quoted in an October 4 GBH article focused on the situation in New England, where about 900 Latinos are reportedly waiting for mostly kidney transplants. Noting that Hispanics are about twice as likely to develop serious kidney disease, the article details an effort to raise awareness of literacy and other hurdles by New England Donor Services.

Another recent effort, highlighted October 8 in Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), focuses on the need for more Hispanic and Latino organ donors. “Although organs are not matched by race or ethnicity, having a diverse pool of donors can make it easier to match donors and recipients,” the article reads. To promote registration among this population, LifeLink of Georgia has been featuring success stories in a motivational campaign since this past August.

According to the Healthcare Brew report, hospital transplant programs nationwide have created kidney transplant programs with staff and education geared toward Hispanic and Latino patients, including Mayo Clinic’s Phoenix, Arizona campus, Tampa General Hospital, the Colorado University School of Medicine, and Murray, Utah-based Intermountain Medical Center.

Published October 8, that article focuses specifically on the program at Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, which “employs bilingual and culturally sensitive staff and includes education sessions and outreach in order to break down documented barriers to care such as language, lack of knowledge about donation, cultural misconceptions, financial concerns, and distrust in the medical establishment.”