Potential to Mitigate Disparities in Access to Kidney Transplant in the Hispanic/Latino Population With a Specialized Clinic: Single Center Study Representing Single State Data

Abstract

We sought to evaluate potential disparities in kidney transplant rates in a single state in the United States. We studied the potential to mitigate disparities with a specialized clinic using it as a model presentation. Based on data from the United States Renal Data System and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, we estimated the yearly end-stage renal disease and waitlist addition, stratified by race/ethnicity from 2000 to 2018. Institution rates were analyzed similarly, and the implementation of a focused Latino clinic was evaluated. The number of patients added to the national transplant waitlist has increased by 40% in non-Latino whites and by 160% in Latinos from 2000 to 2017. Comparing the period from 2000 to 2004 to 2015 to 2018 in North Carolina, the waitlist increased for Latino patients by 482% and non-Latino whites by 23%. One year after a designated Latino transplant clinic at our institution, there was a 125% increase in the number of Latino referrals for kidney transplant evaluation, a 142% increase in the number of waitlisted Latino patients, and an increase in kidney transplants of 145%. With the increasing number of patients in the Latino community who are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, there is a direct benefit for a culturally competent program that addresses access to transplants.