August 2, 2022 – HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital and local organ and tissue donor organizations teamed up to encourage minorities to donate.
HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital, Life Goes On and Gift of Hope are looking for individuals from minority communities to sign up to be organ and tissue donors. The organizations held a prayer service and donor drive Monday that included readings and a candle lighting ceremony honoring those who have donated organs and in solidarity with those waiting for a transplant.
Following the prayer service, the three organizations held a donor drive where community members could learn more about organ donation and sign up to be organ and tissue donors.
National minority organ donation awareness month takes place in August. Patients from communities of color make up more than half – 60% – of the national waiting list for a life-saving transplant.
Although organs are not matched according to race/ethnicity, all individuals waiting for an organ transplant will have a better chance of receiving one if there are large numbers of donors from their racial/ethnic background. This is because compatible blood types and tissue markers—critical qualities for donor/recipient matching—are more likely to be found among members of the same ethnicity. A greater diversity of donors may potentially increase access to transplantation for everyone.
