A biased test kept thousands of Black people from getting a kidney transplant—now, more than 14,000 Black kidney transplant candidates are given credit for lost waiting time.

A once widely used test overestimated how well Black people's kidneys were functioning, making them look healthier than they were, and could delay diagnosis of organ failure.

The National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology pushed hospitals to use race-free equations in calculating kidney function.

The U.S. organ transplant network gave hospitals a year to uncover which Black kidney candidates should have been referred sooner.

More than 2,800 Black kidney transplant candidates had their wait times modified by the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Race which puts people of color at a disadvantage, is still used in many medical decisions, including:

• Treatment guidelines;
• Diagnostic tests; and,
• Risk calculators.

Change is beginning, slowly, with the American Heart Association removing race from a commonly used calculator of people's heart disease risk.

The kidney saga is unique because it is an effort to remedy a past wrong.

Race isn't a biological factor like age, sex, or weight, but somehow it did enter calculations of kidney function.

In 1999, an equation used to calculate eGFR was modified to adjust Black people's results compared to everyone else.

Not every Black kidney candidate was affected by UNOS' mandated lookback.

Transplant center staff often work after hours and weekends to hunt down years-old records for a test that, recalculated without the race adjustment, might make the difference.

For example, Jazmine Evans was diagnosed with kidney disease at age 17, started dialysis, and was placed on the transplant list. 

When her old lab tests were unearthed, the transplant center found she should have qualified for a kidney transplant in 2015.

Evans, who eventually got a new kidney and is healthy again, said the policy change was necessary to bring more equity and equality into the medical field.

We encourage those who suffered injuries or death because of kidney transplant delays to request a free, private case review which could result in finally obtaining justice and potential compensation for damages.