The Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT), in partnership with the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), celebrates National Minority Donor Awareness Week (NMDAW) 2017. Launched in 1996, NMDAW was created to increase awareness of the need for more organ, eye, and tissue donors from ethnically diverse communities.
AMAT salutes the great strides that have been made in terms of the significant increase of multicultural organ, eye, and tissue deceased donors. However, the percentage of patients being added to the national transplant list continues to surpass the percentage of ethnically diverse donors. Transplant and donation professionals are ever mindful that education and engagement must remain a top priority throughout the donation and transplantation community.
Donation and transplant professionals face unique challenges when communicating with grieving families, transplant candidates and patients, hospital staff, and the public with African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian and other multicultural communities.
Multicultural communities play a critical role in America’s transplant system. They save and heal lives as donors of organs, eyes and tissue, need life-saving kidney transplants in disproportionately high numbers, and serve patients and families as healthcare professionals.
AMAT’s helpful resources for its members and community partners include a robust website full of information on how to join AMAT’s broad-ranging efforts to save and enhance more lives. “As the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation celebrates 25 years of serving the transplant community with a multicultural perspective, we continue to make diversity and inclusion anchors in saving and healing lives,” said Remonia Chapman, president of AMAT.
Our hope is that all Donate Life champions will showcase their NMDAW pride by creating content that can be shared virally and communicating your decision with your loved ones. For a downloadable NMDAW kit and more information, please visit AMAT’s website at amat1.org.
American Indian
Currently, there are 1,127 American Indian/Alaska Natives in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant.
African American
There are 34,203 African Americans waiting for a lifesaving transplant today.
Asian/Pacific Islander
There are 9,640 Asians and Pacific Islanders waiting for an organ transplant in the United States.
Hispanic
Currently, there are 22,771 Hispanics waiting for a lifesaving transplant in America.
About the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT):
AMAT was established in 1992 to address the increasing need for organ and tissue donors in the multicultural communities while simultaneously offering support, shared expertise and professional development opportunities for its members as they save and heal lives. AMAT is a self-sustaining, self- governed organization operating solely on voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations, and other affiliated organizations. For more information, visit: www.AMAT1.org.