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. 2024 Jul 2;14(4):1-5.
doi: 10.55729/2000-9666.1365. eCollection 2024.

Waiting for a Liver Transplant in New Mexico; Understanding the State's Multi-layered Adversity

Husam Bader  1 , Mahrukh Khan  2 , Joud Maghnam  3 , Rama Maghnam  4 , Anthony Ricca  2
Affiliations

Waiting for a Liver Transplant in New Mexico; Understanding the State's Multi-layered Adversity

Husam Bader et al. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. .

Abstract

Contrary to the assumption of consistent medical care for patients with specific illnesses in the United States, research reveals vast inconsistencies and inequalities in healthcare delivery, affecting various aspects such as mental illness diagnosis and management, life expectancy differences, overall mortality rates, and healthcare accessibility due to racial, ethnic, and cultural disparities. Liver transplantation, particularly studied in the context of the state of New Mexico (NM), highlights the multilayered inherent disadvantages faced by its citizens. Despite these challenges, the new liver transplantation allocation system implemented by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) in 2020, which focuses on geographic concentric circles rather than donor service areas (DSA), cautiously raises hope for reducing these inequities. The future of decades' worth of adversity remains uncertain, but we are optimistic that New Mexicans' systemic difficulty in getting a new liver would eventually be eased.

Keywords: Healthcare adversity; Heathcare inequality; Liver transplantation; New Mexico.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors have funding or grants to disclose.

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