Donation Decisions Laden With History Of Racism

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African-Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia at higher rates than whites, yet they are less likely to take part in research.

That has created a vexing challenge for scientists, who are trying to persuade more blacks to participate in studies — while they are alive and after they die. A critical part of their efforts is asking for brain donations.

Donating one’s brain is hard for many to fathom, but for African-Americans it is also laden with a long history of racism in health care, including callous and sometimes deadly experimentation.

Senior correspondent Anna Gorman talked to KPCC’s A Martinez on Take Two about dementia among African-Americans and how one couple in Northern California made the decision to donate their brains after death.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Donation Decisions Laden With History Of Racism</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2017-08-15T14:34:07-07:00">
			August 15, 2017		</time>
		</div>
<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/kpcc_dementia_gorman.mp3">Click here to download</a>.</em></p><p>African-Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia at higher rates than whites, yet they are less likely to take part in research.</p><p>That has created a vexing challenge for scientists, who are trying to persuade more blacks to participate in studies — while they are alive and after they die. A critical part of their efforts is asking for brain donations.</p><p>Donating one’s brain is hard for many to fathom, but for African-Americans it is also laden with a long history of racism in health care, including callous and sometimes deadly experimentation.</p><p>Senior correspondent Anna Gorman talked to KPCC’s A Martinez on <a href="http://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2017/08/14/58570/african-americans-and-dementia/">Take Two</a> about dementia among African-Americans and <a href="http://californiahealthline.org/news/lag-in-brain-donation-hampers-understanding-of-dementia-in-blacks/">how one couple in Northern California made the decision to donate their brains after death</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/donation-decisions-laden-with-history-of-racism/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/donation-decisions-laden-with-history-of-racism/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/donation-decisions-laden-with-history-of-racism/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Donation%20Decisions%20Laden%20With%20History%20Of%20Racism&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2FMjQ1OTIw&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/donation-decisions-laden-with-history-of-racism/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/donation-decisions-laden-with-history-of-racism/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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