August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month (NMDAM), when we call attention to the disparities between the number of organ donors and the number of minorities, including African American, Latinx, and Asian Americans, in need of life-saving organs and tissues. One donor can save up to 8 lives and help as many as 75 more through tissue donation.
There are more than 100,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in the United States. Of those, more than 60% represent racial and ethnic minorities. Equally concerning, the National Kidney Foundation states that African Americans are three times likely than White Americans to have kidney failure, while Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely.
Ways to help include becoming a donor, sharing information, and discussing with your network the opportunity for them to become a donor. For more information and resources about this important initiative, go to https://www.donatelife.net/nmdam/.