Organ Donation and Hispanic Americans

Hispanics have high rates of diabetes 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 2023, about 36% percent of Hispanics/Latinos currently on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list received a transplant compared to 58% of non-Hispanic whites.1
  • While 23% of the total candidates currently waiting for transplants are Hispanic, they comprised 15% of organ donors in 2023.1

Organ Transplants

U.S. Transplant Waiting List – Candidates by Race/Ethnicity
OrganAll Candidates# of Hispanic CandidatesHispanic % of All Candidates# of Non-Hispanic White CandidatesNon-Hispanic White % of All Candidates
All Organs103,99323,71922.840,43938.8
Kidney89,75020,93323.331,89635.5
Liver9,4582,09622.15,97963.2
Heart3,43047113.71,81652.9
Lung89712313.757864.4
Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Based on OPTN data as of August 22, 2024.
Transplants in the United States by Recipient Ethnicity, 2023
NumberPercentage of Total 2023 Transplants
Hispanic8,53918.3
Non-Hispanic White23,47050.3
All Ethnicities46,629100
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of August 22, 2024.

Organ Donation

U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, 2023
Donor Type# of All Donors# of Hispanic DonorsHispanic % of All Donors# of Non-Hispanic White DonorsNon-Hispanic White % of All Donors
Living6,9591,19817.24,83269.4
Deceased16,3362,34914.410,70365.5
Total23,2953,54715.215,53566.7
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of August 22, 2024.
U.S. Organ Donors Recovered, Living vs Deceased, 2023
Donor Type# of Hispanic Donors% of All Hispanic Donors# of Non-Hispanic White Donors% of All Non-Hispanic White Donors
Living1,19833.84,83231.1
Deceased2,34966.210,70368.9
Total3,547100.015,535100.0
Source: HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of August 22, 2024.

1 HRSA. OPTN. Based on OPTN data as of August 22, 2024. (back)


Last Edited: 09/25/2024