Addressing racial disparity in blood, stem cell, and organ and tissue donor pools
In Canada, racialized/ethnic populations are underrepresented among blood, stem cell, and organs & tissues donors. Since patients from different ancestral groups can have unique blood and immune system markers, blood, stem cell, and organ & tissue donors from
diverse racial/ethnic groups are needed. However, racialized/ethnic populations face multiple barriers to donation. This grant funds development of a toolkit to educate healthcare professionals about racial disparity in blood, stem cell, and organ & tissue donor pools, focusing especially on the disparities facing Black Canadians and the ongoing challenges that need to be addressed to support donation from racialized/ethnic populations. The toolkit will include a module, workshop, and social media resources, and will support #BlackDonorsSaveLives campaigns in collaboration with Black Canadians to engage racialized populations as donors. The project team includes expertise in transfusion medicine (Drs. Yan/Khandelwal/Pendergrast), stem cell (Dr. Fingrut) and organ (Dr. Leeies) donation and transplantation, community engagement (Biba Tinga, Executive Director of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada, and Sylvia Okonofua, Lead, Black Donors Save Lives Campaign, stemcellclub.ca/blackdonorssavelives/) and donation studies (Dr. Haw, Scientist, Donation Policy & Studies Group). The team will also learn from the lived experience of blood and stem cell recipient Revée Agyepong.
diverse racial/ethnic groups are needed. However, racialized/ethnic populations face multiple barriers to donation. This grant funds development of a toolkit to educate healthcare professionals about racial disparity in blood, stem cell, and organ & tissue donor pools, focusing especially on the disparities facing Black Canadians and the ongoing challenges that need to be addressed to support donation from racialized/ethnic populations. The toolkit will include a module, workshop, and social media resources, and will support #BlackDonorsSaveLives campaigns in collaboration with Black Canadians to engage racialized populations as donors. The project team includes expertise in transfusion medicine (Drs. Yan/Khandelwal/Pendergrast), stem cell (Dr. Fingrut) and organ (Dr. Leeies) donation and transplantation, community engagement (Biba Tinga, Executive Director of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada, and Sylvia Okonofua, Lead, Black Donors Save Lives Campaign, stemcellclub.ca/blackdonorssavelives/) and donation studies (Dr. Haw, Scientist, Donation Policy & Studies Group). The team will also learn from the lived experience of blood and stem cell recipient Revée Agyepong.
Principal Investigator / Supervisor
FINGRUT, Warren
Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee
OKONOFUA, Sylvia
YAN, Matthew
KHANDELWAL, Aditi
PENDERGRAST, Jacob
LEEIES, Murdoch
TINGA, Biba
HAW, Jennie
JAGELAVICIUTE, Gabriela
ROSENFELD, Aaron
KHANOLKAR, Rutvij
SEGALL, Romy
BELLINI, Jonathan
MORAKINYO, Tobi
AGYEPONG, Revée
Institution
Stem Cell Club
Program
BloodTechNet Award Program
Province
Ontario
Total Amount Awarded
34150.0
Project Start Date
Project End Date