1 in 5 people awaiting a transplant are Hispanic. Here's what to know about organ donation.
By Lourdes Medrano, American Heart Association News
The number of Hispanic organ donors in the U.S. has increased in recent years, but that growth has been slow. Although organs are not matched by race and ethnicity, 在西班牙裔人群中，捐赠者和移植候选人之间的差距仍然很大.
联邦数据显示，2023年，大约15%的器官捐赠者是西班牙裔. That's about a percentage point higher than 10 years earlier. However, as of mid-April, nearly 23% of the more than 103,000 transplant candidates on the waiting list in the U.S. are Hispanic. 事实上，59%的移植候选者是黑人、西班牙裔或亚洲人.
不同种族和民族的人之间的移植经常成功, said Dr. Ravi Dhingra, 他是密尔沃基威斯康辛医学院晚期心力衰竭和移植项目的医学主任.
但是，拥有多样化的捐赠者可以使他们更容易与等待名单上的人匹配, according to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
西班牙裔人不太可能捐献器官的部分原因可能是文化原因, but "I would say it's more of a trust issue," Dhingra said.
To help increase understanding, Dhingra and Dr. Hector Ventura, 新奥尔良奥克斯纳诊所基金会心脏衰竭和心脏移植科主任, answer questions about organ donation.
Why are organ donations important?
Simply put, organ donations save lives, experts say. 医生可以将心脏、肝脏、肺或其他重要器官移植给需要帮助的人.
据HRSA称，每位捐赠者可以挽救8条生命，帮助75人. Last year, a record 46,630 transplants were performed in the U.S. from all donors.
Organ transplants can be performed with living and deceased donors. 器官会根据血型等因素与全国等候名单上的人进行匹配, 身体类型和需要移植的人的病情可能有多严重.
"There are still a lot more people on the waitlist nationally, 我们还需要更多的心脏进行移植来帮助病人," Dhingra said. “到目前为止，仍有近20%的患者在等待心脏移植时死亡."
Does racial and ethnic diversity matter in organ transplants?
According to LifeSource, 帮助医院进行器官采购的非营利组织, 相同种族的人更有可能拥有相容的血型和组织标记. So, a more diverse donor pool increases the chances for a match.
Hispanic people make up about 19% of the U.S. 但患糖尿病的风险却高得不成比例, obesity, 高血压和其他可能导致心脏病和器官衰竭的健康状况, according to a 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
2023年，西班牙裔接受了8540例移植手术，其中包括580例心脏移植，这两项手术的数量都创下了纪录.
Why might Hispanic people not donate?
选择不成为捐赠者的西班牙裔人可能对医疗保健系统缺乏信任，因为他们获得医疗保健的机会有限，并且感觉受到医疗保健专业人员的区别对待, Dhingra said.
There are also misconceptions about donating, such as the notion that organs can be taken without permission. But that isn't true, he said. At the time of someone's death, 如果他们没有在州或国家器官捐献登记中找到, 与他们的近亲或合法授权代表接洽捐赠事宜.
Some people might not consider donating for religious reasons. 但文图拉指出，大多数主要宗教都支持器官捐赠.
必须提高拉丁裔人口对器官捐赠的认识, particularly in Spanish, he said. “如果你做一个宣传来解释它是什么，那可能会改变他们的想法."
Why should Latino people consider becoming donors?
每天有17人在等待器官移植时死亡 HRSA.
器官捐献者“肯定不仅能帮助一个人，还能帮助许多病人, kidney, eyes, heart and lung can be donated," Dhingra said. “人们应该这样想，他们所爱的人是在另一个人的身体里延续下去的."
How to become an organ donor
People can sign up to be an organ donor at the state or national level. You also can register when you obtain a driver's license.