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National Minority Donor Awareness Month Resources

Please find National Minority Donor Awareness Month downloadable materials below!

Donation Needs Diversity to Save More Lives

August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month (NMDAM) — a nationwide observance dedicated to sharing the power of organ and tissue donation with multicultural communities.

It’s a time to:

  • Honor diverse donor heroes and their families
  • Share stories of transplant recipients and the lives they’ve reclaimed
  • Encourage donor registration in multicultural communities
  • Promote wellness and preventive care to reduce future transplant needs

See below for materials to help spread the word!

The Need Is Urgent

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Nearly 60% of those waiting are from racial and ethnic minority communities. Chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — which disproportionately affect these communities — are leading causes of organ failure.

📌 Source: Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Data Reports – Current Waiting List by Ethnicity

📌 Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Chronic Disease Disparities

Here are resources to share and commemorate National Minority Donor Awareness Month:

To arrange programs or speakers and get involved with National Minority Donor Awareness Month, contact Naja Killebrew at nkillebrew@donors1.org.

Representation in Donation & Transplantation

Organ donation is not limited by race or ethnicity, but patients often have better outcomes when matched with donors of similar backgrounds — especially for kidney transplants, which rely heavily on genetic markers.

📌 Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – Minority Populations and Organ Donation

Celebrating Legacy & Action

National Minority Donor Awareness Month was founded in 1996 by the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program and has grown into a collaborative national effort supported by:

You Can Be Someone’s Hero

Registering as an organ donor takes less than a minute — but it could mean a lifetime for someone else.

✅ Sign up as an organ donor.
📢 Talk to your loved ones about your decision.
❤️ Share the message to inspire others in your community.

Register to Save Lives
Together, We Save Lives

National Minority Donor Awareness Month is more than an observance — it’s a movement.
Join us in building a future where every patient has a chance, and every hero is honored.