AM24-TU-03-O: Addressing Racial Disparities Across Donation Products for Marginalized Peoples (Enduring)

CABP CE Eligible

Despite the need for diverse donors of blood, stem cells, and organs/tissues, such donors remain dramatically underrepresented in donor pools, across donation products.. This session will begin with a brief didactic component, where expert presenters (Dr. Warren Fingrut and Sylvia Okonofua) will outline the biological rationale underpinning the need for diverse donors across donation products, and the causes underlying the underrepresentation of diverse donors Specifically, the experts will explain unique barriers to donation impacting donors from marginalized groups (including racialized and LGBTQIA+ donors), highlight examples of structural racism and discrimination in donation policy (past and present) which need to be overcome, and present solutions to advance a more inclusive blood and transplant system for donors from underserved/ historically excluded populations. The experts will also present the case of a donor who is both racialized and LGBTQIA+, and guide the participants to consider the barriers that this donor might face with respect to their intersectional identity. The experts will especially emphasize the importance of partnership with patient/family/donor/community advocates to address disparities. Following these didactics, session participants will engage in facilitated, small group discussions, where they will discuss how to advance a more inclusive donation system for marginalized peoples. Each small group will focus on one of the following core themes: highlighting the need to prioritize inclusion, recognizing discrimination, understanding barriers to change, addressing disparities in collaboration with advocates, and building a culture to support inclusion. These small groups will explore how each of these themes relate to the practice of transfusion medicine not just with respect to donor recruitment but also in the clinical spheres. Additional experts in DEI in donation and transplantation will be invited as facilitators. Finally, the presenters (Dr. Warren Fingrut and Sylvia Okonofua) and the expert facilitators will form a panel, and will invite representatives of each breakout group to share a summary of their learnings for discussion with the panel.