Spectrum News: New research looks at racial disparities in kidney transplants
UC research shows barriers for minority transplant patients
Research out of the University of Cincinnati established the Kidney Transplant Equity Index (KTEI), examining the number of minority patients transplanted at a kidney transplant center relative to the prevalence of minority patients on dialysis in each center’s health service area.
Spectrum News produced a story covering the study, interviewing Shimul Shah, MD, the James and Catherine Orr Endowed Chair of Liver Transplantation and professor in the Department of Surgery in the UC College of Medicine. Shah's research discovered transplant centers are one of the determining factors for minorities waiting to get a transplant.
“Are there things that we are doing that are working?” said Shah. “Are there things that we’re doing that aren’t working, and how can we learn best practices? So those are kind of the next steps for our research over the next coming years."
If federal funding is approved, Shah and his team will work on a five-year project to learn best practices to help minorities get their kidney transplants.
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