Black patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) had a 59% lower rate of kidney transplant than whites in one southeastern center, researchers reported.
An analysis of more than 2,200 patients treated at the Emory Transplant Center showed marked racial disparities in access to referral, transplant evaluation, waitlisting, and eventual transplant, according to Rachel Patzer, PhD, of Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues.
Clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic factors explained only about 51% of the overall differences and what causes the rest remains unclear, Patzer and colleagues reported in the February issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
Action Points
- Note that racial disparities in access to renal transplantation have been known to exist, but the specific mechanisms which account for the effects of race and socioeconomic status have not been specifically delineiated.
- Point out tht this study at a single transplant center suggests that improving access to healthcare may reduce some, but not all, of the racial disparities in access to kidney transplantation.
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