Lost in Transplantation: Characterizing Racial Gaps in Physician Organ Offer Acceptance

Background.There are known racial disparities in the organ transplant allocation system in the United States. However, prior work has yet to establish if transplant center decisions on offer acceptance--the final step in the allocation process-- contribute to these disparities. ObjectiveTo estimate racial differences in the acceptance of organ offers by transplant center physicians on behalf of their patients. DesignRetrospective cohort analysis using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) on patients who received an offer for a heart, liver, or lung transplant between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020. SettingNationwide, waitlist-based. Patients32,268 heart transplant candidates, 102,823 liver candidates, and 25,780 lung candidates, all aged 18 or older. Measurements1) Association between offer acceptance and two race-based variables: candidate race and donor-candidate race match; 2) association between offer rejection and time to patient mortality. ResultsBlack race was associated with significantly lower odds of offer acceptance for livers (OR=0.93, CI: 0.88-0.98) and lungs (OR=0.80, CI: 0.73-0.87). Donor-candidate race match was associated with significantly higher odds of offer acceptance for hearts (OR=1.11, CI: 1.06-1.16), livers (OR=1.10, CI: 1.06-1.13), and lungs (OR=1.13, CI: 1.07-1.19). Rejecting an offer was associated with lower survival times for all three organs (heart hazard ratio=1.16, CI: 1.09-1.23; liver HR=1.74, CI: 1.66-1.82; lung HR=1.21, CI: 1.15-1.28). LimitationsOur study analyzed the observational SRTR dataset, which has known limitations. ConclusionOffer acceptance decisions are associated with inequity in the organ allocation system. Our findings demonstrate the additional barriers that Black patients face in accessing organ transplants and demonstrate the need for standardized practice, continuous distribution policies, and better organ procurement.