August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month
August 1, 2025
This year’s theme: ‘One Voice, One Vision to Save and Heal Lives’
INDIANAPOLIS – August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month, an annual collaborative effort to save and improve the quality of life of diverse communities by creating a positive culture for organ, tissue and cornea donation.
The designation began in 1996 to raise awareness about health disparities and the impact of organ, tissue and cornea donation and transplantation in minority communities.
Organ transplants can be successful regardless of the ethnicity of the donor and recipient. Factors such as race, gender and income are never considered during the transplant matching process. However, the chance of longer-term survival may be greater if the donor and recipient are closely matched in terms of their shared genetic background.
“There is currently an urgent need for more organ donors and the need is more pronounced in minority communities that have disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, which can contribute to organ failure and in particular, kidney failure,” said Tim Clauson, board president of Donate Life Indiana. “During National Minority Donor Awareness Month, we strive to raise awareness about the critical need for more lifesaving transplants for patients in our minority communities.”
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Black Americans are four times more likely to develop end-stage kidney disease than white Americans. The prevalence of end-stage kidney disease among Asian Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans and Native Americans is two times higher than among white Americans. These healthcare disparities underscore the need for education and outreach during National Minority Donor Awareness Month to help heal and save lives.
In the U.S., the need for lifesaving organs far exceeds the supply. Currently, the national transplant waiting list consists of more than 104,000 people. Neither race nor ethnicity are factored in regarding the waiting list. The majority of people on the list – 60% – are from racial and ethnic minority groups.
In Indiana, 335 Black/non-Hispanic residents need an organ transplant in addition to 107 Hispanic/Latino residents and 66 Asian/non-Hispanic residents.
Tragically, 13 people in the U.S. die every day waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.
Thanks to the generosity of donors and donor families and the dedication of donation and transplantation professionals, more than 48,000 people – including more than 23,000 from racial and ethnic minorities – received a lifesaving organ transplant in 2024.
Last year, Indiana Donor Network, the federally designated organ recovery organization that coordinates organ, tissue and cornea donation in Indiana and transplantation throughout the U.S., transplanted 1,388 donated organs, saving 1,216 lives. That milestone was a new high for transplanted organ donations in the 38-year history of the organization.
Despite age or medical history, anyone can sign up to be a donor online at Donate Life Indiana.
About Donate Life Indiana
Since 1998, Donate Life Indiana has been the state-authorized nonprofit organization responsible for managing the Indiana donor registry. Its mission is to save lives by creating opportunities for all Indiana citizens to sign up on the organization’s official state registry while striving to raise awareness for organ, tissue and cornea donation and transplantation through public education. For more, visit Donate Life Indiana online.
