In 2021, researchers finally acknowledged a glaring racial bias against Black medical patients undergoing kidney-related treatment. Since then, an effort to reverse the harm caused by the race-based kidney test was implemented, and it seems to be working.
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For decades, eGFR was used to test for kidney health. Those with lower results tend to be closer to kidney failure and are often moved up on the transplant list. On the flip side, cases with higher, healthier results usually end up in a lower spot on the transplant list. An issue with the screening arose after nephrologists discovered a clear problem with the system.
Over time, eGFR results were found to be inflated by 16 to 21 percent only for Black patients. The race-based method resulted in Black patients being less likely to be referred for a transplant compared to white people. The bias was eventually phased out in 2022, but that did not help the thousands of Black folks who were already placed at the bottom of the transplant line.
To counter this glaring racial bias, researchers at the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) have agreed to give thousands of Black patients credit on the transplant waiting list for time lost, according to a March 2026 study.
OPTN was established in 1984 as a new and improved way to tackle a growing demand for organ transplants and efficiently match donors to recipients. And for the first time, they’ve determined the new program to be a success!
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center compared a database of all kidney transplants before and after the policy change, according to the Associated Press.
Over 21,000 Black candidates received adjustments, bringing the median increase to 1.7 years, according to JAMA Internal Medicine. “That’s meaningful time as the wait for a kidney transplant averages three to five years but can be far longer in some parts of the country,” per AP.
This is major news for Black patients, who make up roughly 30 percent of the kidney transplant waiting list but only about 13 percent of donors, according to the Office of Minority Health. Still, racial bias in the medical field continues to impact Black people across all industries.
Dr. Rohan Khazanchi of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center, who led the study, told the AP the policy “hopefully helps move the needle toward equity.”
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