UC Irvine Health System

11/06/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/06/2024 15:53

UC Irvine study uncovers racial disparities in living donor kidney transplants

UC Irvine study uncovers racial disparities in living donor kidney transplants

Gap was found in every time period in study, even after considering socioeconomic factors

November 06, 2024

IN THE NEWS: UC Irvine researchers analyzed data from more than 111,000 adult first-time, pre-dialysis kidney transplant candidates between 2001 and 2020 and found significant racial disparities.

UCI Health Dr. Fawaz S. Al Ammary and his team found that over every time period in the study, Black, Hispanic and Asian patients were less likely than white people to receive a living donor transplant, even when considering socioeconomic factors.

He and co-investigator Simeon Adeyemo, PhD, wrote of their findings in Renal+Urology News:

"These findings underscore the need for interventions to support patients from racial/ethnic minorities throughout the transplant process, ensuring that all candidates receive similar opportunities, resources, and timelines, while also tailoring culturally sensitive donor recruitment efforts. These findings emphasize the need for programs to address systemic barriers and ensure equitable access to quality continuity of care for racial/ethnic minorities."

Al Ammary is a board-certified UCI Health nephrologist at UCI Health Kidney Transplant Services who specializes in kidney diseases and disorders and living donor kidney transplantation. He is also an associate professor in the Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Kidney Transplantation in the Department of Medicine at UC Irvine School of Medicine. He is also the director of Mixed Methods Research in Kidney Health and Transplantation.

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