Racial Bias Uncovered in Kidney Transplantation System: Thousands of Black Patients Prioritized After Years of Waiting

At issue is a once widely used test that overestimated how well Black people’s kidneys were functioning, making them look healthier than they really were. An automated formula calculated results for Black and non-Black patients that were far different from those of others, delaying organ failure diagnosis and, ultimately, proper evaluation for a kidney transplant.Five years ago, Arlette Ebanks experienced severe kidney pain that she believed suggested a criminal need for a transplant. Her doctors disagreed, but the 52-year-old Northeast, D.C., resident, and mother of two who worked for the Department of Transportation for more than half of her life until her deteriorating health landed her on permanent disability, had grown ever more anxious as health care providers attempted various measures of maintenance.Recently, physicians at George Washington University Hospital told Ebanks that she should have been on the transplant list, and understandably, Ebanks wondered why previous doctors hadn’t done so. Now, Ebanks knows why. “All this time, all this stress and worry, was all because I’m Black,” Ebanks stated with intense incredulity in an interview with the Washington Informer.At issue is a once widely used test that overestimated how well Black people’s kidneys were functioning, making them look healthier than...