Skip Navigation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Minority Health

Office of Minority Health (OMH) Logo

Organ Donation and Hispanic Americans

Hispanics have high rates of diabetes and heart disease. Mexican Americans, in particular, suffer disproportionately from obesity, which contributes to diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. These conditions are known to put patients at risk for organ failures. Language barriers also negatively affect patient access to health care as well as adequate health information. In 2019, Hispanics made up 18.4 percent of the national population.

  • The number of organ transplants performed on Hispanics in 2020 was about 30 percent of the number of Hispanics currently waiting for a transplant. The number of transplants performed on whites was 48.8 percent of the number currently waiting.
  • While 20.5 percent of the total candidates currently waiting for transplants are Hispanic, they comprised 14.6 percent of organ donors in 2020.
  • Almost 69 percent of organs recovered from Hispanic patients in 2020 were from deceased donors.
  • Both Hispanic men and women have a chronic liver disease rate that is twice that of the white population, and they are almost twice as likely to die from chronic liver disease as compared to the white population.

 

U.S. Transplant Waiting List – Candidates by Race/Ethnicity
Organ All Candidates # of Hispanic Candidates Hispanic % of All Candidates # of White Candidates White % of All Candidates
All Organs 106,666 21,864 20.5 43,054 40.4
Kidney 90,235 19,142 21.2 32,377 35.9
Liver 11,704 2,190 18.7 7,865 67.2
Heart 3,531 393 11.1 2,004 56.8
Lung 922 164 16.5 661 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
Hispanic 6,585 16.9
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 Hispanic Donors % of All Hispanic Donors # of White Donors % of All White Donors
Living 5,729 831 14.5 4,129 72.1
Deceased 12,588 1,845 14.7 8,249 65.5
Total 18,317 2,676 14.6 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 Hispanic Donors % of All Hispanic Donors # of White Donors % of All White Donors
Living 831 31.1 4,129 33.4
Deceased 1,845 68.9 8,249 66.6
Total 2,676 100 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 5:02:00 PM