August 1, is National Minority Donor Awareness Day, an opportunity to honor minority organ donors and their families, encourage greater donor enrollment among all racial and ethnic groups, and promote healthy living to decrease the need for organ transplantation.
At no time has the need for organ donations been greater: today, more than 108,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant. Of these, 55 percent are minorities. In 2009, minorities accounted for approximately 35 percent of organ and tissue donors in the country.
People of minority backgrounds have a particularly high need for organ transplants because some diseases that can lead to organ failure are found more frequently in such populations compared to others. For example, African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics are more likely than whites to suffer from end-stage renal (kidney) disease, often as a result of high blood pressure and other conditions that damage the kidneys. Native Americans are more likely than whites to suffer from diabetes.
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