In 2013, President Barack Obama passed legislation that would allow HIV-positive donors to give organs to HIV-positive recipients. A Bronx resident was recently New York’s first transplant recipient under the law.
According to the Gift of Life Donor Program, 60 percent of people currently on the U.S. transplant waiting list are people of color, and of those on the list from the Bronx, the percentage is even higher at more than 80 percent.
In recognition of National Minority Donor Awareness Month, Ken Teasley, 54, of Kingsbridge, spoke with the Bronx Times about the HOPE Act and how it impacted his life. He’s been working closely with LiveOnNY — the official organ procurement organization for the greater New York region — to raise awareness on the issue.
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