Donor Diaries
Donor Diaries is a podcast that delves into the beauty and complexity of living organ donation. Tune in to hear extraordinary stories of people who choose to share their organs and give the gift of life. The world of kidney and organ donation is a powerful testament to kindness, love, and the human spirit.
With over 90,000 individuals on the kidney transplant waitlist and about 13 people dying each day while waiting, the urgency is real. One in three Americans is at risk for chronic kidney disease, and one in nine already suffers from it, often unknowingly.
Donor Diaries offers unfiltered narratives from living donors and candid insights from transplant experts, aiming to elevate the conversation around organ donation. Our goal is to bring this crucial issue to the forefront, so no patient has to wait in vain or suffer needlessly.
Donor Diaries
Race Matters with Dr. Dinee Simpson | EP 7
Race Matters with Dr. Dinee Simpson
Plainly stated, white people are four times more likely to receive a kidney transplant than an African-American people. And, Asian-Americans and Native Americans, have more than double the likelihood of receiving a kidney transplant than African-Americans. This is the case despite African-Americans having higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure than other racial cohorts. These are the health conditions that put people at further risk for organ failures.
According to UNOS, once a patient is on the waitlist, the system policy that we have assures equity. The problem is everything before that. A good nephrologist should be thinking about transplantation for any patient who has progressive end-stage renal disease. That doesn’t happen as much with African Americans and Hispanics and probably poor people. But it’s clear that African Americans and Hispanics are not referred or preemptive transplants as much as others.
Disparities in access to renal transplantation between black people and white people have been extensively documented, and show that black people have significantly poorer access to transplant. This is a major problem that many institutions are taking an action to correct.
Dr. Dinee Simpson, is one of nine Black female transplant surgeons in the United States. She’s committed to breaking down barriers to transplant care in the African American community through access to education, resources and world-class transplant care. She founded the The Northwestern Medicine African American Transplant Access Program (AATAP), to address disparity in access to transplantation experienced by the Black community.
AATAP is a program built for the Black community, based on feedback and conversations with Black community members about the challenges of navigating a complex diagnosis and the healthcare system. The four pillars of the program address patient distrust of health care, cultural competency, health literacy, and psychosocial support.
Show Links
African American Transplant Access Program
"Chicago transplant surgeon aims to increase live-saving options for African American patients" abc7chicago.com March 2, 2021.
"She's Rebuilding Trust One Patient at a Time" March 2, 2021.
