NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A group promoting organ and tissue donation by minorities has begun a campaign tagged "Talk about it. Be about it. Become an organ and tissue donor."
The Minority Organ & Tissue Transplant Education Program has joined with the group Donate Life Tennessee in the Facebook campaign.
A news release from the program said that of the 1.7 million Tennesseans signed up on the state donor registry, only 232,000 are minorities. But a disproportionate percent of minority patients are awaiting a transplant because they are more prone to illnesses like hypertension and diabetes.
The campaign began Wednesday in conjunction with National Minority Donor Awareness Week.