Blacks, whites donate organs at same rate, but need much greater among blacks
The Birmingham News | Sten Diel
Photo: Organ bank managers are reaching out to the black community in an attempt to boost the number of blacks who register as organ donors. While blacks currently register at a rate commensurate with their population, demand for kidneys is higher in the black community because blacks are more likely to get diabetes or hypertension. (iStockphoto)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- African-Americans make up 26 percent of the population in Alabama, but represent 67 percent of the 3,395 people on the state’s kidney transplant waiting list, according to data from the Alabama Organ Center.
The racial disparity â€" a result of blacks’ proclivity toward hypertension and diabetes â€" is slightly less pronounced nationally, but still dramatic. Nationwide, African-Americans represent 14 percent of the population and 34 percent of the 70,292 on the nation’s kidney waiting lists, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health.
Ann Rayburn, senior manager of professional education for the Alabama Organ Center, said the disparity is not a result of African-Americans donating in numbers lower than their share of the population. Both in Alabama and nationally, blacks register to donate at a rate consistent with their numbers, and thanks to advances in immunosuppressive drugs, race is rarely a factor in matching donor organs with recipients.
The racial disparity â€" a result of blacks’ proclivity toward hypertension and diabetes â€" is slightly less pronounced nationally, but still dramatic. Nationwide, African-Americans represent 14 percent of the population and 34 percent of the 70,292 on the nation’s kidney waiting lists, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health.
Ann Rayburn, senior manager of professional education for the Alabama Organ Center, said the disparity is not a result of African-Americans donating in numbers lower than their share of the population. Both in Alabama and nationally, blacks register to donate at a rate consistent with their numbers, and thanks to advances in immunosuppressive drugs, race is rarely a factor in matching donor organs with recipients.
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