Norma Adams-Wade / Dallas Morning News

Ministers traditionally have carried much weight when it comes to persuading their congregations on important issues – especially in black churches.

So Southwest Transplant Alliance officials are pleased that their campaign through black churches is increasing the number of black people who donate organs when a loved one dies.

The alliance spent the last two years educating black and Latino church leaders and surveying their members in select Texas towns. The survey showed that more congregation members are willing to donate organs when they know that their church leaders support the practice.

The alliance is spotlighting its findings as the Aug. 1 National Minority Organ Donor Awareness Day approaches.

"We are seeing that many of the misconceptions that people believed just two years ago have been dispelled thanks to their faith leaders," said Southwest spokeswoman Pam Silvestri.

Transplant advocates for decades have battled religious and personal taboos that some people have against organ donation. Advocates say some people wrongly believe that removing organs of a recently deceased person will keep them out of heaven. Others wrongly believe that doctors might allow one person to die in order to use their organs to save another, advocates say.

The myths are prevalent among African-Americans, and ironically, large numbers of black patients need transplants, donor advocates say. Most of the nation's more than 60,000 people awaiting a kidney transplant are black or Latino, alliance officials say.
African-Americans and Latinos nationally comprise about 13 percent each of organ donors. Yet of those needing a kidney transplant, about 36 percent are African-American and 17 percent are Latino.

In Texas, African-Americans comprise about 11 percent of donors and about 25 percent of people waiting for a kidney. Latinos comprise about 35 percent of donors and 47 percent of those needing a kidney, alliance officials say.

The organ donation agency formed a team of black and Latino representatives who worked with families facing a death. The representatives informed families that by donating a loved one's organs, they could save someone else's life and bring more meaning to a loved one's death.

A critically ill person with a diseased organ could get a second chance at life by receiving a transplant that generally includes a kidney, heart or lung. Other organs that can be transplanted include corneas and skin. Organs of a donor and recipient of the same race generally match better, said transplant authorities.

Advocates urge individuals who agree to be an organ donor to tell relatives so the family will feel comfortable donating one or more of their loved one's organs.

The public may request that a local transplant recipient, faith leader and/or organ donation expert come speak to their group on the Aug. 1 awareness day. Call the alliance at 214-522-0255, 1-800-788-8058 or visit www.organ.org.