HHS Seeks Public Comments to Advance Equity and Improve Care for People with Kidney Failure

In early December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to get stakeholder feedback that will be used to improve care and advance equity in kidney organ donation and transplantation as well as dialysis services. Comments are due February 1, 2022.

Dialysis and kidney transplant patients, as well as their family members, are encouraged to respond to the RFI. People waiting for kidney transplants, living donors, people who want to donate organs posthumously, and their family members should also respond. The RFI especially wants to hear from people of color who fit into these groups.

Research shows that communities of color have disproportionately high rates of conditions like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease, all of which increase the risk for kidney disease. Compared to white Americans, Black Americans are almost four times more likely, and Latinx Americans are 1.3 times more likely, to have kidney failure. Yet despite this greater risk, Black and Latinx dialysis patients are less likely to be placed on a transplant waitlist and have a lower likelihood of receiving a transplant. 

The press release about the RFI opportunity can be found here.