# Improving Racial Equity in Clinical Decision Making about Access to Organ Transplant

> **NIH NIH K08** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $131,702

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Organ transplantation is the optimal treatment for end stage organ disease and results in improved patient survival and
quality of life. Black patients have rates of end stage organ disease nearly three times that of white patients, yet comprise
only 20% of organ transplant recipients. The transplant selection process is not standardized across transplant centers and
therefore decision making at each phase of the process is potentially vulnerable to institutional racism. Further, national
transplant data collection and monitoring exclude the transplant selection process. The overall objective of this proposal
is to identify, characterize, and intervene on inequities in organ transplant that occur due to health system processes
which are vulnerable to interpersonal and institutional bias Our central hypothesis is that inadequate attention to equity
promoting principles throughout each phase of the selection process are major contributors to inequitable access to organ
transplant. This project will quantify racial inequities at each phase of the transplant selection process (screening,
evaluation and committee decision making) using electronic health record data, characterize vulnerabilities in the
transplant screening, evaluation and committee decision aming processes that contribute to overall inequities in access
to transplant and design and pilot a toolkit to reduce inequities in the transplant screening, evaluation and committee
decision making processes. This results of this project will elucidate the influence of institutional racism in transplant
systems and processes on racial equity in access to transplant. The research and additional knowledge and skill
development will form a strong foundation for the candidate’s transition to an independent investigator studying
interventions to overcome institutionally biased practices which contribute to organ transplant inequities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10507407
- **Project number:** 1K08MD017632-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa M McElroy
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $131,702
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-23 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10507407

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10507407, Improving Racial Equity in Clinical Decision Making about Access to Organ Transplant (1K08MD017632-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10507407. Licensed CC0.

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