An Effort to Remedy Harm From a Race-Based Kidney Test Helps Black Patients Seeking Transplants

March 10, 2026

Following the elimination of a racially biased kidney function test, the U.S. transplant system has implemented a restorative justice initiative to compensate Black patients who were disadvantaged by the flawed assessment method. The race-based formula had artificially inflated kidney health readings for Black patients, causing delays in their diagnosis and transplant referrals. Over 21,000 Black transplant candidates received retrospective waiting list credit, with a median gain of 1.

Who is affected

Over 21,000 Black kidney transplant candidates who received waiting time modifications
7,484 Black patients who received kidney transplants during the study period (January 2022 to June 2025)
Black Americans generally, who comprise approximately 30% of the kidney transplant list and are three times more likely than white people to experience kidney failure
Non-Black patients and white patients (whose transplant rates remained stable)
Transplant centers and hospitals responsible for reviewing medical records
Black patients recently added to transplant lists who may still be eligible for credit

What action is being taken

Hospitals are combing through medical records to identify Black patients who could have qualified for kidney transplants sooner
Transplant centers are crediting eligible Black patients with additional waiting time on transplant lists
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Boston Medical Center are analyzing transplant data to assess the policy's effectiveness

Why it matters

This initiative represents an unprecedented attempt at restorative justice in medical care, addressing systemic racial bias that directly harmed Black patients' access to life-saving organ transplants. The race-based kidney function test exacerbated existing disparities affecting Black Americans, who already face significantly higher rates of kidney failure but lower transplant access. The policy change demonstrates that correcting inequities for one racial group doesn't harm others, providing a potential model for addressing similar race-based biases in other medical tests and challenging the historical use of race as a biological variable in clinical assessments.

What's next

Black patients recently added to the transplant list should ask if they may also be eligible for waiting time modifications.

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint