1 in 5 people awaiting a transplant are Hispanic. Here's what to know about organ donation

The number of Hispanic organ donors in the U.S. has increased in recent years, but that growth has been slow. Although organs are not matched by race and ethnicity, a significant gap remains between donors and transplant candidates among Hispanic people.

About 15% of organ donors in 2023 were Hispanic, federal data shows. That's about a percentage point higher than 10 years earlier. However, as of mid-April, nearly 23% of the more than 103,000 transplant candidates on the waiting list in the U.S. are Hispanic. In fact, 59% of transplant candidates are Black, Hispanic or Asian people.

Transplants between people of different races and ethnicities are frequently performed successfully, said Dr. Ravi Dhingra, medical director of the advanced heart failure and transplant program at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

But having a diverse pool of donors can make it easier to match them with someone on the waiting list, according to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

Part of the reason Hispanic people may be less likely to donate organs may be cultural, but "I would say it's more of a trust issue," Dhingra said.

To help increase understanding, Dhingra and Dr. Hector Ventura, section head of heart failure and heart transplant at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, answer questions about organ donation.

Why are organ donations important?

Simply put, organ donations save lives, experts say. Doctors can transfer a heart, liver, lung or another vital organ to someone in need.

Each donor can save eight lives and help 75 others, according to HRSA. Last year, a record 46,630 transplants were performed in the U.S. from all donors.

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