ORO Letter to the Editor
National Minority Donor Awareness Month – August 2020
August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month (NMDAM), and we are uniting with one voice and one vision to save and heal lives. We celebrate NMDAM to:
- Highlight the need for organ donors within multicultural communities;
- Provide donation education;
- Encourage donor registration; and
- Promote healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation.
Did you know that African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, Hawaiian Natives/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives make up 60 percent of all people on the national organ transplant waiting list?
Although organ transplants can be successful regardless of the race or ethnicity of the donor and recipient, there is a greater chance of longer-term survival if the shared genetic background of the donor and recipient are closely matched. That is why we all benefit when individuals of multicultural backgrounds sign up as organ, eye, and tissue donors. In fact, 39,719 people, including over 18,000 racial and ethnic minorities, received the gift of life in 2019, thanks to individuals who said “yes” to organ donation.
Join the Health Resources and Services Administration in celebrating NMDAM by setting yourself up to pay it forward when the time comes! Together, we can diversify the online donor registry, and prevent conditions that can lead to organ failure by leading a healthy, active lifestyle year-round.
Learn more about organ, eye, and tissue donation at organdonor.gov or donaciondeorganos.gov, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for regular updates.
Lisa Mariani, Regional Administrator
Region 4 – Atlanta
Health Resources and Services Administration
