August 1-7 : Join LifeCenter Northwest during National Minority Donor Awareness Week!

Wednesday, August 1 is the beginning of the 22nd annual National Minority Donor Awareness Week. This special week of observance was created to increase awareness of the need for more organ, eye and tissue donors, especially among minorities.

Join us in honoring minority donors and encouraging others to register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor.

Currently, minorities make up more than half of those currently on the national organ donation waiting lists. As of April 2018, approximately 58% of individuals on the national organ donation waiting list were minorities (with African Americans making up 29%).

Greater donor diversity can help increase access to transplantation for everyone. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this is because the same ethnicities have higher likelihood of having compatible blood types and tissue markers.

HHS also shares that “although organs are not matched according to race/ethnicity, and people of different races frequently match one another, all individuals waiting for an organ transplant will have a better chance of receiving one of it there are large numbers of donors from their racial/ethnic background.”

An impactful action you can take during this week of observance can include discussing organ, eye and tissue donation with family and friends in diverse communities.

LifeCenter Northwest will be honoring minority donors and helping to raise awareness about the importance of increasing donor diversity by sharing stories and statistics throughout the week. Feel free to share our posts throughout the week!