Organ Waiting List High Among Minorities in New Mexico

KTSM
NEW MEXICO — August 1st is celebrated as National Minority Donor Awareness Day, with the goal of educating minorities of the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donations in multicultural communities.

Minorities make up 56 percent of the nearly 115,000 men, women and children on the national organ transplant waiting list. New Mexico's waiting list has even higher rates of minorities awaiting transplants, accounting for 67 percent of the 753 New Mexicans in need of organ transplants.

"During National Minority Donor Awareness Day, we encourage New Mexicans from all racial and ethnic groups to register to be donors on their driver's license or online at www.NMdonor.org," said Patricia Tencza, Executive Director for New Mexico Donor Services.

In 2011, there were 11,529 organ transplants performed on minority patients in the U.S.; while there were 2,730 minority deceased donors and 1,777 minority living donors.

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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}