Organ donation and referrals among African-Americans

Solid organ referrals for AA have been growing since 1989. One third of AA referrals are in the 16 to 30 year age group with the majority of these males suffering traumatic injury. AA donors have increased from 11 in 1989 to 32 in 1992. This is in spite of AA and minority consent rates that are 20% to 30% below that of the CAUC group. This gap represents a vital opportunity for improvement. Increased education to minority groups with a message that considers the ethnic and cultural diversity of the minority community coupled with an increase in the number of minority transplant coordinators should help to increase the number of AA referrals and donors.