Just a minute. If you're part of America's wondrously diverse color wheel and not waiting desperately for an organ transplant in order to survive, or don't have a friend or loved one who is, why would you be aware?
That was the question Dr. Clive Callender may have been pondering in 1991 when he founded the national Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, more widely (and easily) known as MOTTEP. A professor of surgery at Howard University, Callender also established the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center in D.C., the first minority-operated center in the United States.
Here's the issue: Of the more than 100,000 people currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in this country (of course there are other organs, as well as eyes and tissue, but I'm partial to kidneys), at least 64 percent of them are minorities. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders are far more susceptible to high blood pressure and diabetes than any other ethnic groups (don't ask me why), and those are the two leading causes of kidney failure.
Every 10 minutes, another patient is added to that waiting list. Every day, 18 patients die while on that list.
However, though minorities dominate the waiting list – We're No. 1! We're No. 1! – our rate of organ donation, either as a living donor or after death, has been vastly disproportionate. Maybe we think we'll have a use for them after we're gone, or that Jesus won't want to see us all cut up like that.
The great news is, thanks to groups like MOTTEP and other education and outreach efforts, the number of minority donors has more than doubled over the past 15 years. The sobering news is, there is still so far to go.
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| Dr. Clive Callander |
"When we started this effort, we were told that minorities don't donate organs; we've proven that wrong," Callender said in an interview with organdonor.gov. "Instead, we've learned that by overcoming common misconceptions and creating awareness about organ donation, communities come together and help take care of each other."
A single organ donor can save a dozen lives or more. And because the organ match is likely to be far more compatible with a member of the same ethnic group (again, don't ask me why – what do I look like, a transplant surgeon?), the need for minority donors is critical.
Here's the call to action, what you can do. First and most obvious, sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. It's really simple and only takes a minute: you can find more information here.
Then share the message with your family and friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other mode of communication you wish. (Share my blog – please!) Hey, you might even want to talk to them! And make sure you let your family know of your desire to be an organ donor, so there can be no doubt going forward.
I'm alive today because of the selfless act of one minority family who improved and extended my life through the gift of a "perfect" kidney. The more organs donated, the more lives saved: simple as that. You have the chance to make a huge difference in so many other lives. It's the next best thing to immortality.
Like Spike Lee would tell you: do the right thing.
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Did you know there was a Hemodialysis University? Boy, their final exams must be rough!
Calling all nephrologists, fellows, dialysis nurses and dialysis technicians: ISDH, the International Society for Hemodialysis, with assistance from Network Strategies and Innovations, Inc. (NSI), is conducting a two-day "Hemodialysis University" program Aug. 15-16 at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare, its first such event in the Midwest since 2012.
The conference, "Critical Solutions for Dialysis Care," features an emphasis on home hemo, with an internationally recognized faculty on hand to conduct the sessions. Group rates are available. For more information or registration, go to ishd.org or call (800) 228-9290.
Wonder what Hemodialysis University's team mascot might be? The Fighting Fistulas?
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