National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month

National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month, celebrated nationally the entire month of August, is dedicated to save and improve the quality of life of multicultural communities by creating a positive culture for organ, eye, and tissue donation. The observance, founded by National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), highlights the need within multicultural communities, provides organ and tissue donation education, encourages donor registration and promotes healthy living and disease prevention to decrease the need for transplantation, while honoring those multicultural donors who said Yes to donation and gave the gift of light. Here in our community there are nearly 1,500 people waiting for a lifesaving transplant, of those waiting almost 50% are from multicultural communities. While organs are not matched according to race or ethnicity, transplant matches made within multiethnic groups can be more compatible. That is one of the many reasons it is so important for people of color to sign up to become organ, eye and tissue donors. We invite you to read our Donation Essentials article “Does race matter in organ transplants?” to learn more about the observance.