Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;210(5):708-15, 715-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2010.02.037.

Minority organ donation: the power of an educated community

Clive O Callender  1 , Patrice V Miles
Affiliations

Minority organ donation: the power of an educated community

Clive O Callender et al. J Am Coll Surg. 2010 May.

Abstract

Background: In 1978 in Washington, DC, we became aware of the scarcity of minority donors, especially African Americans.

Study design: From then until now, 4 decades later, we have been involved in a grass roots effort emphasizing community education and empowerment combined with the use of mass media, which has increased minority donation rates exponentially. This program was initiated with a $500 grant from Howard University and was subsequently funded by National Institutes of Health grants and other funding totaling more than $10 million between 1993 and 2008.

Results: Between 1990 and 2008, minority donations percentages have doubled (15% to 30%). African-American organ donors per million (ODM) have quadrupled from 8 ODM to 53 ODM between 1982 and 2008.

Conclusions: The investment of $10 million may seem substantial when we look at the cost-to-benefit ratio associated with the cost savings of $135,000 per donor. But it is small when compared with the more than $200 million saved by kidney donors alone, which is associated with the expected increase in the percentage of minority donors to 35% by 2010, or the equivalent of 1,750 minority donors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Information: Nothing to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Racial breakdown of the kidney transplant waiting list. Minorities total: 61% (as of November 2009). Source: UNOS/OPTN Database.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) evaluation model at the participant level.
Figure 3
Figure 3
All of the factors work together to determine the outcomes of the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) outreach strategies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Callender CO. The results of transplantation in blacks: just the tip of the iceberg. Transplant Proc. 1989;21:3407–3410. - PubMed
    1. Hall LE, Callender CO, Yeager CL, et al. Organ donation in Blacks: the next frontier. Transplant Proc. 1991;23:2500–2504. - PubMed
    1. Callender C, Burston B, Yeager C, Miles P. A national minority transplant program for increasing donation rates. Transplant Proc. 1997;29:1482–1483. - PubMed
    1. Callender CO, Bey AS, Miles PV, Yeage CL. A national Minority Organ/Tissue Transplant Education Program: the first step in the evolution of a national minority strategy and minority transplant equity in the USA. Transplant Proc. 1995;27:1441–1443. - PubMed
    1. Callender CO, Hall LE, Yeager CL, et al. Organ donation and blacks: a critical frontier. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:442–444. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms