[Medscape] The proportion of organ donors from U.S. minority groups has increased substantially in the past 20 years, following national education efforts to raise awareness of the need, a new study finds.

Kidney transplants, for example, have a greater chance of success when the donor and recipient are as genetically similar as possible. But historically, organ donations from minority groups lagged far behind the need. Surveys have identified a number of reasons — including lack of awareness of the need for donor organs, distrust of the medical establishment, and a belief that their religion disapproves of organ donation (although most religions have no rules against donation).

In the 1990s, the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) was launched to raise awareness of the need for minority organ donors. And the effort seems to be paying off, according to the new study, led by MOTTEP founder Dr. Clive Callender, a transplant surgeon at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Using data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Dr. Callender and colleagues found that between 1990 and 2008, minority donation percentages in the U.S. went from 15% to 30% percent.

The rate of African-American donors more than doubled during those same years — from 22 to 53 per million. Meanwhile, the rates among Hispanics rose from 23 to 50 per million, and those of Asians climbed from 10 to 35 per million.

The findings are published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

MOTTEP runs media campaigns and works with various local organizations, including schools and social, civic and religious groups, to raise awareness of the need for organ donors. It also educates minorities on how to lower their risk of developing kidney disease.

The current findings suggest that the programs are having an impact, according to Dr. Callender’s team.

Along with the UNOS data, the researchers studied survey data from nearly 6,800 12- to 18-year-olds who have taken part in MOTTEP programs. As a group, the teenagers showed significant shifts in their understanding of kidney failure, organ and tissue donation, and their plans for becoming donor in the future.

Despite the progress, however, donor-organ shortages remain the number-one problem in organ transplantation. According to UNOS, more than 107,000 Americans are on the national waiting list for organ transplants, with about 85,000 waiting for donor kidneys. As of late 2009, minority group members accounted for 61% percent of the renal transplant waiting list.

http://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(10)00122-5/abstract