Posted April 30, ,2026
Colorado’s UCHealth hit a huge milestone at the end of 2025, completing more than 10,000 transplants since their beginning in 1962. Colorado has seen the evolution of organ transplants, from experimental attempts to life-saving procedures. The process of organ transplants has drastically improved, but there is still a long way to go in terms of racial equality for transplant recipients in Colorado and across the world.
Organ donation in the United States is difficult due to the severe shortage of donors and organ availability, with more than 100,000 of people on waiting lists. The barriers of receiving organ donations become even greater for African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian and Native American communities due to profound mistrust on the medical system and economic as well as sociocultural factors.
There are 1 in every 5 Latino/Hispanic people waiting for an organ transplant.
To receive an organ donation in Colorado, you must first be evaluated by a doctor and placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list. Then, when an organ becomes available, Donor Alliance handles the process by matching patients depending on their illness, time on the list, blood type and body size. For minorities, systemic barriers might delay this process even as their sense of urgency increases and the disease becomes even harder to manage.
There are 1 in every 5 Latino/Hispanic people waiting for an organ transplant, but regardless of the high demand, they are less likely to donate and be included on organ donation lists.
A few conditions that decrease organ donation for the Latino/Hispanic community include cultural, religious, language and education barriers, which can disproportionately affect them due to the scarcity in available organs. Current immigration status also creates a fear of having their names exposed to government systems, diminishing organ donor sign-ups.
About 23% of the people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant are from this community, who are twice as likely to get end-stage renal disease, which in most cases could be cured by a kidney transplant. Awareness of organ donation for the Latino/Hispanic community should become a priority because it can advance equity in healthcare and diminish barriers.
The Asian community is most likely to have diabetic conditions, high blood pressure and high rates of virus-related cancers. This raised need for organ donation conflicts with the shortage of compatible donors.
The need for Native American/Alaska Native donations is scarce. The lack of awareness of the issue, limited access to healthcare and burial rituals leads to fewer opportunities in Native American patients who need a compatible organ.
African Americans are four times more likely than white people to develop End- Stage Renal Disease (ERSD) but have half the likeliness to receive a kidney transplant. The wait is on average 1,335 days for an organ donation, while also having the highest risk in post-transplant death during a period of 10 years. The lack of awareness across the community also keeps failing people in need.
While strides have been made towards eliminating racial disparities in organ transplant, there is still more to be done. Although organ donation and recipients are not dependent on race or ethnicity, finding DNA compatible donors is much easier among members of the same communities.
This makes signing up for organ donation, whether it is checking off your license or in local organ donor registries important, especially if you are a minority. To get approved as a living donor, contact a transplant center to complete a health questionnaire. By testing yourself to become a possible organ donor, you can deliver hope to those who need it.
For more information, visit www.transplantgamesofamerica.org.
