US Kidney Transplant Policy Reverses Racial Bias

An effort to reverse the effects of a racially biased medical test that delayed kidney transplants for Black people in the United States is showing positive results. The U.S. transplant system ended the use of a race-based formula for calculating kidney function in 2023 and ordered hospitals to credit Black patients on transplant lists for time lost due to the biased test. A study by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women s Hospital, and Boston Medical Center, led by Rohan Khazanchi, found that thousands of Black transplant candidates gained a median of 1.7 years on the waiting list, and their transplant rate increased. The findings suggest that improving transplant care for Black individuals did not negatively impact individuals of other races.