National Minority Donor Awareness Day approaches; Hispanic donors increase

Conceived of 15 years ago by then President Bill Clinton, National Minority Donor Awareness Day is observed on August 1. The purpose of the holiday is to not only honor minority organ donors, but encourage others to donate their organs. Thanks to campaigns in Spanish endorsing organ donation, Hispanic donors have increased in numbers in recent years. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, of every 60 donors in the state of Georgia, for example, 8 are Hispanic, up from 4 in 2006. Hispanics are more likely to donate an organ than any other ethnic group, with nearly 70 percent consenting to organ donation.

Of the 112,000 individuals awaiting an organ in the United States, about 19,000 are Hispanic. Carlos Castro of Life Link, an organization for Hispanic organ donors, the demand for organs still outweighs the supply, despite the increase in donors. According to Castro, the main reasons for which Latinos opt not to donate organs are lack of information and religious objections. Many Catholics might ask themselves if they will be reanimated after the final judgement if they are missing organs, says Castro, who insists that resurrection is spiritual, and not physical. Some might also believe that as organ donors, they will not be provided with life saving medical care should they need it.