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African-Americans & Less Educated Are More Likely To Receive Lower-Quality Kidneys, Study Finds
THURSDAY, October 10, 2013 —When it comes to kidney transplants, not all organs are equal, and the color of your skin may play a role in the quality of the kidney you receive, according to a new study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Researchers from the University of Florida found that African-Americans and people with less education are almost twice as likely to receive an “extended criteria donor” (ECD) kidney –kidneys that do not meet the standard donor criteria and are more likely to fail –than Caucasians or those with a college degree.
ECD kidneys come from donors who are over the age of 60, or the age of 50 if they suffered from high blood pressure or died of stroke. The transplant waiting list for ECD kidneys is much shorter than the standard waiting list, but while ECD kidneys are effective, they have a higher risk of failure than standard donation kidneys.
“The allocation of ECD kidneys is a complex problem,” the researchers, led by Rajesh Mohandas, MD, a nephrologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida, wrote in the study. "Given the scarcity of donor kidneys, we should maximize the use of donor kidneys. On the other hand, we have to make certain that such kidneys are being allocated to individuals who are most likely to benefit and not disproportionately allocated to minorities with low socioeconomic and educational status.”
Researchers looked at all single-kidney transplants documented in the United States between 2000 and 2009, more than 13,000 total, and found that American-Americans were 1.7 times more likely to receive an ECD kidney than Caucasians, and patients with less education were 2.3 times more likely to receive one than patients with a college degree.
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http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/african-americans-more-likely-to-receive-lower-quality-kidneys-study-finds-6646.aspx
ECD kidneys come from donors who are over the age of 60, or the age of 50 if they suffered from high blood pressure or died of stroke. The transplant waiting list for ECD kidneys is much shorter than the standard waiting list, but while ECD kidneys are effective, they have a higher risk of failure than standard donation kidneys.
“The allocation of ECD kidneys is a complex problem,” the researchers, led by Rajesh Mohandas, MD, a nephrologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida, wrote in the study. "Given the scarcity of donor kidneys, we should maximize the use of donor kidneys. On the other hand, we have to make certain that such kidneys are being allocated to individuals who are most likely to benefit and not disproportionately allocated to minorities with low socioeconomic and educational status.”
Researchers looked at all single-kidney transplants documented in the United States between 2000 and 2009, more than 13,000 total, and found that American-Americans were 1.7 times more likely to receive an ECD kidney than Caucasians, and patients with less education were 2.3 times more likely to receive one than patients with a college degree.
...
http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/african-americans-more-likely-to-receive-lower-quality-kidneys-study-finds-6646.aspx
2 replies
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Is creepy. It's creepy and macabre and awful. Just awful. 
