Changes to eliminate race-based criteria from the kidney transplant list have benefited Black candidates, Medscape reported Aug. 26.
In July 2022, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network banned transplant programs from using race-adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate, a measure of kidney function, to determine if and when a patient should be placed on the kidney transplant list. Instead, this metric was replaced with race-neutral formulas. The OPTN gave programs one year to review patients' medical records to find those whose waiting time had been affected by race-based formulas and apply to the organization for modification.
There are 800 to 850 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list at any one time. Within the first year of the new formula, 236 Black patients on the list were identified and 138 were eligible for modification. On average, these patients had 619 days added to their wait time and by the end of the year, 39 received transplants, according to Medscape.