WASHINGTON ā An unprecedented effort to reverse the effects of a racially biased medical test that blocked or delayed Black people from getting kidney transplants seems to be working.
Researchers reported Monday that thousands of Black transplant candidates have been given credit on the transplant waiting list for time they lost because of that misguided test, moving up their priority in an attempt at restorative justice.
That test used a race-based formula to calculate patientsā kidney function. It made Black patientsā kidneys appear healthier than they really were, delaying diagnosis of impending organ failure and referral for transplant.
After the U.S. transplant system ended use of the race-based test, it ordered hospitals to determine which Black patients on their transplant lists could have qualified for a new kidney sooner, by combing medical records for long-ago biased findings, and credit them with that time.
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Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Womenās Hospital and Boston Medical Center analyzed a database of all kidney transplants between January 2022 and June 2025, comparing transplant rates before and after the January 2023 policy change.
Surgical instruments and supplies lay on a table during a kidney transplant surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital on June 28, 2016, in Washington D.C.
Among the more than 21,000 Black transplant candidates given waiting time modifications, the median gain was 1.7 years, the team reported in JAMA Internal Medicine. That's meaningful time as the wait for a kidney transplant averages three to five years but can be far longer in some parts of the country.
Black patientsā transplant rate increased right after the policy change, by 5.3 transplants per 1,000 listings, before leveling off. Overall the kidney transplant rate increased during the study period and the the transplant rate for non-Black patients didn't change significantly under the new policy, remaining highest for white patients., the researchers reported.
The findings āsuggest that improving transplant care for Black individuals did not harm individuals of other races,ā Dr. L. Ebony Boulware of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who wasnāt involved in the study, wrote in an accompanying commentary that urges similar efforts to mitigate harm from other erroneously race-based medical tests.
The policy āhopefully helps move the needle toward equity,ā Dr. Rohan Khazanchi of Brigham and Womenās Hospital and Boston Medical Center, who led the study, said in an interview.
A sign hangs from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston.
Getting a wait-time credit didn't translate into immediate transplants ā 7,484 of them received a new kidney during the study period.
The biased kidney test was based on a measurement of how quickly a waste compound called creatinine gets filtered from blood. In 1999, an equation used to calculate that rate was modified to adjust Black peopleās results compared to everyone elseās, based on some studies with small numbers of Black patients and a long-ago false theory about differences in creatinine levels.
That test exacerbated other disparities that already make Black Americans more at risk of needing a new kidney but less likely to get one. They are over three times more likely than white people to experience kidney failure and make up about 30% of the kidney transplant list.
Khazanchi was surprised to find that less than 1 of 3 Black transplant candidates received wait-time modifications.
That might be because some werenāt diagnosed with kidney disease until their organs had failed, an emergency that doctors call ācrashing onto dialysis.ā But Khazanchi said another possibility is that some transplant centers had more resources than others to do the digging into old medical records ā lab tests performed not only years earlier but possibly in different health systems in different parts of the country ā to find everyone who qualified.
While the ordered lookback to change wait times happened in 2023, Black patients more recently added to the transplant list should ask if they also may be eligible, he advised.
Why medical deserts are on the riseāand how patients there are accessing in-person care
Why medical deserts are on the riseāand how patients there are accessing in-person care
Twenty-one percent of adults without access to a vehicle or public transit went without needed medical care in 2022. It's a sobering stat that points at a real problem: Unlike online shopping or dinner delivery, people need to get to health care to actually receive it. This is trickier in regions where essential medical services are hard to reach, often called "medical deserts." In these areas, even routine medical visits can become ordeals.
Take the simple act of picking up a prescription. For many of us, that requires only a quick drive (or even walk): A majority of Americans live within two miles of a pharmacy. But the U.S. has seen a 15% decline in retail pharmacies since 2021, leaving many communities without easy, convenient access to medications, Lyft explains.
Data from GoodRX suggests that in 40% of counties, residents have to travel over 15 minutes to get to nearby pharmaciesābut it's in the rural states of North Dakota, Alaska, and Montana, and the more urban states of Texas and Georgiaāwhere riders have to travel the farthest. The situation is particularly striking in Apache County, Arizona; Woodford County, Illinois; and Delaware County, New Yorkāwhich are the three largest counties where 100% of residents live in pharmacy deserts.
Pharmacy Deserts Across the Country
Long pharmacy rides were generally more common in rural counties, with under 50 people per square mile. Among high-density counties, pharmacy deserts are 30% more likely to occur in counties with a higher share of African American residents.
One in Four Patients Use Rideshare to Navigate Health Care Deserts
While health deserts have long been a problem in the U.S., rideshare is helping to cross them. Visits to and from health care facilities have emerged as a major use case for rideshare services, with 26% of riders in a recent Lyft survey reporting using rideshares to access health care services.
To meet the demand for convenient and reliable transportation in these medical care deserts, thousands of hospitals partner directly with rideshare companies, some of which are authorized as non-emergency medical transportation services, to provide transportation to appointments and pharmacies.
This story was produced by Lyft and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
Medical Care Issues Add to Pharmacy Desert Existence
Pharmacies are only part of the problemāthere are also disparities in access to medical care. The average American lives roughly 5 miles away from a hospital, and many have to travel over 10 miles for routine health care visits. This distance is not just an inconvenience: Living far from a medical facility is associated with fewer visits to a primary care physician and worse outcomes for patients with cancer and chronic conditions.
GoodRX data suggests that across the U.S., 20% of counties are hospital deserts, where the closest hospital is generally over 30 minutes away. These rates are twice as high in Alaska, North Dakota, and Missouri, and there are several counties where all residents have to travel over 30 miles to get to a hospitalāthose with populations over 38,000 include Valencia County, New Mexico; Webster County, Missouri; and Kendall County, Texas.
