Can organs be given to different racial groups or to individuals of the opposite sex?
For the heart, lung, or liver; donor and recipient race and gender are not factors but organ size is critical to make a successful match. When matching a kidney or pancreas donor and recipient, genetic makeup is a crucial factor. Cross-racial donations can, and do, happen with great success when matches are available. However, members of different racial and ethnic groups are usually more genetically similar to members of their own group than they are to others. (For example, Black or African Americans are usually more genetically similar to other Black or African Americans than they are to White Americans.) It is important, therefore, to increase the minority donor pool so that good matches can be made as frequently as possible for minority patients.
