Mariah Cain, Staff Writer
A once popular racially biased organ test had been negatively impacting Black kidney transplant candidates. The test overestimated how well Black people’s kidneys were functioning and moved them down in the priority list. In 2022 the U.S. Organ Transplant Network ordered hospitals to use only race-neutral test results for patients being added to the kidney waiting list. They also ordered hospitals to recalculate Black candidates transplant waiting time if they previously were subjected to the racially biased test.
Chief Medical Officer of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Michelle Evelyn Moore said, “Lots of time when we see health inequities, we just assume there’s nothing we can do about it.” She continued, “We can make changes to restore faith in the health system and to actually address the unfair and avoidable outcomes that Black people and other people of color face.”
