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A group of HBCU medical schools has partnered with prominent health organizations to reduce organ transplant disparities in the Black community.
The partnership aims to increase the number of Black organ donors and diminish disparities through community outreach, education sessions, and career development opportunities for HBCU students.
President of Meharry Medical College James E.K. Hildreth told the Associated Press, “At the heart of all this is the profound disparity in transplants that are given and performed on African Americans versus [W]hites in our country, and it’s a long-standing problem and issue."
The participating HBCU medical schools include Meharry Medical College, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Sciences, Howard University College of Medicine, and Morehouse College School of Medicine.
This comes in response to a recent report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, which pointed to the reduced number of Black organ transplant recipients.
Clive Callender, Howard University College of Medicine professor, said, “Minorities and people of color have been consistently underrepresented throughout medicine, and the field of organ and tissue donation and transplantation is no exception.”
Callender continued, “This collaboration will allow us to save thousands of lives across the country by strengthening relationships between health care workers, Black and minority patients, and organ and transplantation professionals.”
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