August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month, which was formed as a collaborative effort to save and improve the quality of life of diverse communities by creating a positive culture for organ, eye, and tissue donation. It also brings awareness to the increased number of multicultural individuals who are waiting for lifesaving and healing transplants.

“Nearly 60% of patients on the national transplant waiting list are from multicultural communities,” said Latoya Joyner, Community Relations Coordinator at Carolina Donor Services. The need for donation and transplantation is greater in minority communities where disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease contribute to organ failure, especially kidney failure. African Americans are three times more likely than White Americans to have kidney failure. Hispanics/Latinx are 1.5 times more likely to have kidney failure than non-Hispanics. On average, African American transplant candidates wait longer than White transplant candidates for kidney, heart, and lung transplants.

“This is a significant health issue in our community,” states Joyner. Nationally, over 109,000 individuals are awaiting a lifesaving transplant and that includes over 3,000 men, women, and children in North Carolina. Today, 1,500 African Americans represent majority of the North Carolina waitlist, and the greatest need is for kidneys.

Transplants can be successful regardless of the race or ethnicity of the donor and recipient. However, the chance of long-term survival may be greater if the donor and recipient are closely matched in terms of their shared genetic background. Donor diversity matching patient diversity can help save more lives.

Carolina Donor Services, North Carolina’s largest organ donation and tissue recovery organization, is asking for help to educate, share stories, and celebrate life and legacy. Despite COVID-19, they will provide speakers virtually or in-person to businesses, events, and organizations.

“Most importantly,” Joyner continued, “register your decision to become an organ, eye and tissue donor in one of the following ways: saying “Yes” at the DMV when you obtain or renew your driver’s license or identification card or by registering online at www.donatelifenc.org/register. Be sure to have the conversation with your family and/or friends so they are aware of your decision to save and heal lives.”