August 1 is National Minority Organ Donor Day!

Right at Home, an international leader providing in-home companionship, personal care assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently, is continually monitoring issues that impact our clients and their families from an emotional, physical and financial perspective.

Did you know that August 1 is National Minority Organ Donor Day? It's an important day to commemorate, as there is a severe shortage of organ donors in our country. According to Organ Donor.gov, "Each day, about 77 people receive organ transplants. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place because of the shortage of donated organs."

Minority populations are particularly affected by long waiting lists and lack of available donated organs. The Office of Minority Health notes that "minorities make up more than half of organ donation waiting lists (54.2%), yet they comprise less than half of organ transplants performed (33.6%)."

There are a number of troubling statistics that illustrate the glaring need for far more minority organ donation. Consider the following, courtesy of MinorityNurse.com:

• More than 83,000 persons are currently on the national transplant waiting list.

• 16 people die each day waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

• A disproportionate number of these people who are on waiting lists and dying--approximately 50%--are racial/ethnic minorities, including 23,558 African Americans, 13,059 Hispanics/Latinos and 5,158 Asians/Pacific Islanders.

• Patients in need of a transplant are more likely to find a genetically compatible match within their own racial/ethnic group.

• Minority donors account for only about 25% of the available donor pool.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services sums up the situation well:

"Minorities overall have a particularly high need for organ transplants because some diseases of the kidney, hear, lung, pancreas and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the general population...Some of these conditions that can result in organ failure are best treated through transplantation and others can ONLY be treated by this life-saving procedure. In addition, similar blood type is essential in matching donors to recipients. Because certain blood types are more common in ethnic minority populations, increasing the number of minority donors can increase the frequency of minority transplants."

Right at Home encourages you to learn more about minority organ donation. Please visit www.mottep.org, the website of the National Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program for more information about this critical issue and how you can help make a life-saving impact.

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companion and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Right at Home directly employs all care-giving staff, each of whom are thoroughly screened, trained, bonded and insured prior to entering a client's home. All ongoing care is monitored and supervised by more than 185 local independent franchises. Right at Home's global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with franchise offices located in 40 states nationwide, as well as in the U.K.. For more information on Right at Home High Point, contact Greg Brewer or visit www.rightathome.net. To sign up for Right at Home's free adult caregiving eNewsletter, Caring Right at Home, please go to www.caringnews.com.