Black History Month – Organ Donation Facts

Let’s celebrate and honor Black History Month

When we think of Black History Month, organ donation is not the first thing that comes to mind, but it is important to bring to light facts affecting this community. According to the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, among all ethnic groups, African Americans are least likely to receive a living kidney donation. This statistic hits hard when over 33% of the individuals on the United States transplant waiting list are African American. This gives an opportunity to bring together the African American community through an organization called AMAT (Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation).

AMAT is the industry leader in educating communities of color on organ donation as well as bringing together the Donate Life community to inspire change. AMAT and Donate Life California hope to lessen the impact of these facts by sharing stories of African Americans who have chosen to be living kidney donors to help their own family or community. Here is a link to some of these incredible stories from AMAT: http://amat1.org/stories-of-hope/