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Joey Wahler (Host): Well, Hispanic men and women have a much higher rate of contracting certain chronic diseases and are more likely to die from them than the general population. Yet Hispanics donate organs with a far lower frequency than others and are less likely to receive an organ transplant. So, we're discussing this troubling trend and the Tampa General Hospital Hispanic Transplant Program.

Welcome to MD cast by Tampa general hospital, a go-to listening location for specialized physician to physician content and a valuable learning tool for world-class health care. I'm Joey Wahler. Our guest, Dr. Martin Aldana, a transplant nephrologist with Florida Kidney Physicians and Tampa General Hospital Kidney Transplant. Doctor, thanks for joining us.

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: Hi, thanks for having me today.

Joey Wahler (Host): First, when it comes to the diseases they address, generally speaking, what is the importance of organ transplant?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: Well, it's important because there's a lot of people waiting for a kidney transplant and, unfortunately, there's a high percent of the people die on the wait list for this. So overall, it increases survival rate and life expectancy for those who unfortunately have kidney disease.

Joey Wahler (Host): Well, you mentioned kidney disease and kidney transplants, which are the most common. Hispanics have a much higher rate than other ethnicities in addition to that for getting chronic conditions like liver disease, heart disease, diabetes, which also often lead to needing transplants. And yet, as we alluded to, Hispanics organ donor numbers are relatively low. So why that disparity?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: I believe it's lack of information for the ones that are waiting for an organ and the ones that are willing or could donate an organ to, in general, the Hispanic population. One of the things we want to target with this is communication and education to the overall community out there, letting them know that, yes, it's a disease, it's a chronic disease, but however, there's also a good opportunity to donate and make something good for all of us, you know, for all of them. So I think lack of information on education in donation, it's a big impact and a big problem in this community.

Joey Wahler (Host): So, how would compare some of the basic usual obstacles in getting a rise in people donating organs in general? How would you compare that with what happens or doesn't happen in Hispanic communities? In other words, what's the challenge in general and then how much more challenging is that when we're talking about Hispanics?

I think

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: spreading the word, that's the first thing, letting the community know that, as I mentioned before, there's a problem, but there's also a solution. Letting them know that transplantation, it's an option. And you don't need a relative to donate an organ for you. It can be anyone. I think that's the other challenge out there. They don't know that's a possibility. And if you didn't know that there's a problem and how can you solve it, it's hard for them to actually try to find a solution. So I think education and knowledge are the key factors here.

Joey Wahler (Host): And when you talk about that education and knowledge, doctor, how about when it comes to the Hispanic community? How about the language barrier in many instances?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So that's a big issue too. I think because there's not a lot of people out there that can provide this education in their own language. And even though there are a lot of people that are bilingual, I feel that having someone of their own community or coming from their own community that they relate to, it could make a big impact. So having someone not just Hispanic speaking, but also either Hispanic or Latino, it's going to make a huge difference for them to get this information, understand it, and actually do something with it and look for certain solutions such as transplantation.

Joey Wahler (Host): Now, Tampa General Hospital is a national leader for decades now for its various organ transplants, kidney and beyond. So tell us about it's Hispanic Transplant Program.

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So it's something that we recently launched. Thank God and, you know, fortunately. We just launched the website. We're working on it. So overall, we have lower numbers in terms of people receiving an organ from the Hispanic community and also donating an organ from the Hispanic community. So that's one of our goals moving forward. Hopefully, within the next few years, we can make a significant impact. So we're working together to not just have Spanish-speaking providers, but overall a team that can address this issue. Social workers, nurses, coordinators, probably the administration so forth and so forth. So it's a big plan. it's a big commitment and it's been a lot of work. It's just starting. So hopefully, we can make a big impact moving forward.

Joey Wahler (Host): And so how unique, how unusual is what you're doing in targeting one particular group like that compared to what's going on elsewhere in the country and in the world?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So it's been done in different places in the country. There are not that many programs that have this option. So we're really proud of starting this program. We actually talked to different providers and physicians of some of these other programs, see what their experience has been, and seems to be very positive through the years. As I mentioned, it took them a good amount of years to actually show how much of a difference they were able to make and the impact they were able to make in the community. But I think we've got something good going on here, because there's the need out there. We have numbers to back it up. So hopefully we can be one of those leaders on these area as well..

Joey Wahler (Host): We talked, doctor, a little bit about what I alluded to earlier, the fact that there are certain chronic diseases in particular that inherently Hispanics get with greater frequency than others. What are a few of those main ones?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So high blood pressure and diabetes are one of the biggest ones. These two are actually the leading cause of kidney disease, not just in this country, but worldwide. And again, going back to where I was saying before, I believe that the lack of education and communication, and also here, the language barrier has a lot to do with it. So overcoming those barriers would be very important to, you know, let the community know that there's a problem, but also there are solutions.

Joey Wahler (Host): Mexicans, and we're generalizing here, but statistics show that Mexicans have more of an obesity problem than other ethnic groups. So what kinds of difficulties and perhaps transplants does that lead to?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So in terms of obesity, you know, it's also a risk factor for different conditions. But when you do research and you read the literature, it's not just that particular community. You know, overall Hispanic community has a lot of obesity, that could lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease and some other chronic diseases, such as heart disease and so forth, so forth. So targeting the overall Hispanic community or Latino community in addition to that would be very important.

Joey Wahler (Host): So a few other things here. First, we've talked a lot about Hispanics, of course, but generally speaking, I mentioned how successful and renowned Tampa General Hospital has been for generations now when it comes to transplants. Overall, why is Tampa General so versed in that field would you say?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: I think it's because they see the community as one. In general, they're trying to target that population, that as the Hispanic community, you know, it's one of the largest growing minorities in the country. So I feel like giving the opportunity or open the opportunity not just for certain ethnicities, but for everyone, it's something that's very unique of Tampa General. We look each patient as an individual regardless where they come from or their background. But I think targeting the ones that have no benefits so far from especially transplant, it's very important. That way, we can target the whole entire population, not just one.

Joey Wahler (Host): Backtracking for a quick moment, generally speaking, doctor, who is eligible to be an organ donor?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: Anyone. Anyone who wants to donate an organ is eligible. There is a very thorough evaluation for those ones who would like to be donors because we want to make sure that they're healthy enough to undergo this process. But, generally speaking, anyone who's willing to do it could potential do it.

Joey Wahler (Host): And then how about this? What would you say would be the main misconception perhaps that the general public has about organ donation? You've mentioned the word education and emphasized that multiple times in our conversation here. What's the biggest maybe myth or misconception that people have?

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: So one of them would be that you need to be related to the potential recipient and that's not the case. It can be anyone, your neighbor, your friend, your spouse, anyone out there. The other misconception, and I think this is coming more from the recipient side, is that they don't want the person giving them an organ or a kidney in this case to get sick for that matter. As I was saying, donation, it's a very thorough process and not just us, but across the country, we want to make sure those who donate kidneys or organs in general are the healthiest individuals possible. That way, the risk of them having any issues because of these matter decreases. So I believe those are the two biggest misconceptions.

Joey Wahler (Host): Well, we certainly hope you've been enlightened about the need for organ transplant, not just in general as always, of course, but particularly in the Hispanic community, and when it comes to Tampa General Hospital's Hispanic Transplant Program. Dr. Martin Aldana, thanks again.

Dr Martin Aldana-Campos: No. Thank you very much for having me.

Joey Wahler (Host): Thanks for listening to MD cast by Tampa general hospital. Available on all major streaming services for free to collect your CME.

Please click on the link in the description for other CME opportunities, including live webinars on demand, videos and local events offered to you by Tampa general hospital, please visit CME dot T G h.org.

Hoping your health is good health, I'm Joey Wahler.