Like most “awareness months,” this one should get more attention year ’round. Because minorities are disproportionately affected by chronic kidney disease, they are also disproportionately underrepresented when it comes to organ donation. National Minority Donor Awareness Month is a collaborative initiative of the National (Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation) Multicultural Action Group (NMAG) designed to change that.

NMAG’s objective is to bring heightened awareness to donation and transplantation in multicultural communities; the focus is on African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander. and Native American communities.

Black or African Americans are more than 3 times as likely, and Hispanics or Latinos 1.3 times as likely, to develop kidney failure compared with white Americans, according to the National Kidney Foundation website. That’s primarily because these minorities have much higher rates of the conditions that are the major risk factors for chronic kidney disease, namely diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Earlier this year I wrote here that action finally was being taken to address critical systemic inequities in access to transplant. The formula that determines a patient’s degree of kidney function (eGFR)–and consequently their eligibility for transplant–was race based for decades until last year. The result was that fewer African Americans were deemed to be “needing” a transplant even when their creatinine (level of waste products in the blood) was the same as a white patient’s. U.S. transplant centers are now required to adjust the status of African American kidney patients who were wrongly classified based on the old formula.

That was huge news. Overall, most of the nearly 100,000 people waiting for a deceased-donor kidney in the United States wait five to ten years. Thousands die each year simply because they didn’t get one in time. Anything that unnecessarily adds to that wait is tragic.

Remember what I said in the opening about needing more minority donors? Example: In 2021 nearly 30% (28.6) of the total candidates waiting for transplants in this country were non-Hispanic blacks, but black individuals made up just 15% of organ donors in 2021.

Unfortunately, rates for living donation are even more affected. In 2021 only 18.7% of black donors were living donors versus 33.6% of white donors. Given that living donation offers shorter waits and provides better outcomes, lagging in this area further compounds the appalling disadvantages.

Taking concrete steps to reduce inequities in the system is one important way to shorten the wait for a lifesaving organ for those most in need. Raising awareness of the situation–among individuals, healthcare providers, and members of Congress (to provide increased funding for research and supports)–are others.

The NMAG collaborative has numerous print and social media messages on donation and transplantation. Spreading these messages is important this month and every month.

For related posts, resources, and information on The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation, be sure to explore the rest of my website.