Organ Donation and American Indians/Alaska Natives

Organ and Tissue Donation

Organ Donation and American Indians/Alaska Natives

Although American Indians and Alaska Natives account for less than 1 percent of patients on the organ transplant waiting list, they suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and heart related diseases. Alcoholism is also prevalent among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), and in turn, they face higher rates of cirrhosis and other liver diseases. These conditions are known to put patients at risk for organ failures. In 2019, American Indians/Alaska Natives alone made up 0.9 percent of the national population.

The number of organ transplants performed on American Indians/Alaska Natives in 2020 was 30 percent of the number of American Indians/Alaska Natives currently waiting for a transplant. The number of transplants performed on whites was 48.8 percent of the number currently waiting.
While about 0.8 percent of the total candidates currently waiting for transplants are American Indian/Alaska Natives, they comprised 0.6 percent of organ donors in 2020.
In 2020, 28.8 percent of the organs recovered from American Indians/Alaska Natives came from living donors as compared to 33.4 percent of white living donors.
American Indians/Alaska Natives are more likely to develop a case of hepatitis C than the white population, a cause of liver failure.

U.S. Transplant Waiting List – Candidates by Race/Ethnicity
Organ	All Candidates	# of AI/AN Candidates	AI/AN % of All Candidates	# of White Candidates	White % of All Candidates
All Organs	106,666	901	0.8	43,054	40.4
Kidney	90,235	792	0.9	32,377	35.9
Liver	11,704	94	0.8	7,865	67.2
Heart	3,531	11	0.3	2,004	56.8
Lung	922	2	0.2	661	66.6

Source: HRSA. U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of August 23, 2021.
https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/*

Transplants Performed in the U.S. by Recipient Ethnicity, 2020
	Number	Percentage of Total 2020 Transplants
AI/AN	280	0.7
White	20,997	53.8
Total Transplants	39,036	100

Source: HRSA. U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of August 23, 2021.
https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/

U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, 2020
Donor Type	# of All Donors	# of AI/AN Donors	% of All AI/AN Donors	# of White Donors	% of All White Donors
Living	5,729	22	0.4	4,129	72.1
Deceased	12,588	90	0.7	8,249	65.5
Total	18,317	112	0.6	12,378	67.6

Source: HRSA. U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of August 23, 2021.
https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/

U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, 2020
Donor Type	# of AI/AN Donors	% of All AI/AN Donors	# of White Donors	% of All White Donors
Living	22	19.6	4,129	33.4
Deceased	90	80.4	8,249	66.6
Total	112	100	12,378	100

Source: HRSA. U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of August 23, 2021.
https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/

*OPTN data is updated monthly online. The data and statistics for this section will be updated annually.

Last Modified: 8/26/2021 4:40:00 PM

Office of Minority Health

Organ Donation and American Indians/Alaska Natives

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