A wave of lawsuits has been filed against the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), accusing the organization of using a discriminatory calculation that forced Black kidney patients to wait longer and become sicker before being eligible for a transplant. Since April 2023, at least 10 lawsuits have been lodged in federal courts across the country, with more expected to follow as awareness grows.
These lawsuits, filed by individuals who say they were unjustly delayed or denied access to transplants, seek damages for both physical suffering and financial loss. Some are also pushing for punitive damages against UNOS and the involved hospitals. At the heart of the claims is a calculation that was once used to assess transplant eligibility, which factored in a flawed assumption about Black patients’ muscle mass. Though this race-based adjustment was discontinued in 2022, its effects left a lasting impact on many patients.
The National Kidney Foundation reports that Black Americans are over three times more likely than white Americans to suffer from kidney failure. Despite the discontinued use of the race-adjusted formula, the long-term harm has already been felt, with many Black patients alleging they were unfairly left off waitlists or forced to endure longer waits for a life-saving transplant.
Among the hospitals named in the lawsuits are prominent institutions such as Cedars-Sinai, Mass General Brigham, and the University of Southern California. These facilities are facing accusations of contributing to the delays. While some hospitals have emphasized their commitment to equitable care and were early adopters of race-neutral evaluations, others declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
In March, a federal judge ruled that a class-action lawsuit against UNOS and Cedars-Sinai, originally filed in April 2023, could proceed. The case highlights the immense personal toll of these delays, including that of Dexter Welch, who has been waiting for a kidney for over a decade. Welch’s attorney warned that his declining health may now prevent him from ever receiving a transplant, a delay that could ultimately be fatal.
UNOS, which oversaw the national organ transplant network for decades, is now facing heightened scrutiny. Following a 2022 U.S. Senate investigation into the organization’s management, new legislation allows other organizations to compete for the oversight role. UNOS has welcomed the competition but disputed several findings from the investigation.
Many of the patients involved in the lawsuits say they were never informed about the policy changes that were meant to correct the racial bias, leaving them in the dark about adjustments to their waitlist status. According to attorney Shawn Collins, this lapse in communication likely cost lives. “Some Black patients died waiting for a kidney because of this,” Collins stated bluntly.
