Organ Donation in Ethnic Communities of L.A.

A wide disparity exists between the large number of people on transplant lists, waiting for vital organs, such as a kidney, liver, heart, lung or pancreas, and the limited availability of those organs. Why is that? And can anything be done to close the imbalance? For my project in the National Health Journalism Fellowship program, I'm delving into the subject of organ donation. My geographic focus will be the Greater Los Angeles region. Given the demographic diversity of this region, I will concentrate on organ donation among Latinos, African Americans, Asians and Native Americans. These communities appear to be less informed about organ donation than whites and have lower rates in registering for organ donation. I have a lot to learn and look forward to sharing the results of my research. My articles will be published in La Opinion, Nguoi Viet Daily News and LA Beez, an online collaboration of six ethnic media outlets.