Organ Donation and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

Organ and Tissue Donation

Organ Donation and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

Health statistics for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders are limited, and patients can be categorized with all Asian Americans, leading to numbers that often do not portray existing health disparities for this population. In 2019, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (NHPI) alone made up 0.2 percent of the national population.

The number of organ transplants performed on Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders in 2020 was about 25 percent of the number of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders currently waiting for a transplant. The number of transplants performed on whites was 48.8 percent of the number currently waiting.
While 0.6 percent of the total candidates currently waiting for transplants are Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, they comprised 0.3 percent of organ donors in 2020.
The number of organs recovered in 2020 from deceased Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander donors was almost twice the number of living Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander donors.
Native Hawaiians are more likely than whites living in Hawaii to be diagnosed with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders have higher obesity rates and are seven times more likely to be diagnosed with chronic liver disease, as compared to whites. These conditions are known to put patients at risk for organ failures.

U.S. Transplant Waiting List – Candidates by Race/Ethnicity
Organ	All Candidates	# of NHPI Candidates	NHPI % of All Candidates	# of White Candidates	White % of All Candidates
All Organs	106,666	608	0.6	43,054	40.4
Kidney	90,235	568	0.6	32,377	35.9
Liver	11,704	29	0.2	7,865	67.2
Heart	3,531	7	0.2	2,004	56.8
Lung	922	1	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
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	152	0.4
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 NHPI Donors	% of All NHPI Donors	# of White Donors	% of All White Donors
Living	5,729	18	0.3	4,129	72.1
Deceased	12,588	35	0.3	8,249	65.5
Total	18,317	53	0.3	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 NHPI Donors	% of All NHPI Donors	# of White Donors	% of All White Donors
Living	18	34.0	4,129	33.4
Deceased	35	66.4	8,249	66.6
Total	53	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 5:09:00 PM

Office of Minority Health

Organ Donation and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

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