National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month – Diversity is Imperative
August 1st marks the beginning of National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month! This annual national observance is crucial in saving and enhancing lives in our diverse communities.
National Multicultural Donor Awareness Month, observed annually in August, is a collaborative initiative to save and enhance diverse communities’ lives by promoting a positive culture surrounding organ, eye, and tissue donation. By focusing on African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native communities, this observance brings heightened awareness to the importance of donation and transplantation in multicultural contexts.
Did you know that nearly 60% of the national transplant waiting list comprises people representing multiethnic communities?
Our voices are united to address the number one problem in transplantation: the gap between the demand for organ transplants and the supply of donated organs. The need for donation and transplant is more pronounced in multiethnic communities where disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease contribute to organ failure, especially kidney failure.
Black & African Americans are almost four times more likely than White Americans to have kidney failure. Hispanics are 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.
These healthcare disparities are part of the need for NMDAM education and outreach to help heal and save lives in our communities. We invite you to join us in helping bring light to these disparities and uplift our multiethnic communities.
Please, help us drive that awareness throughout our communities and yours by utilizing our toolkits across all social media platforms, Zoom, and more! You can download the toolkit here
Our President & CEO, Janice F. Whaley, and other Donor Network West leaders have shared valuable insights on how we have been able to achieve organizational milestones in multiethnic donors. Click here to watch the short, inspiring video!