Researching and Developing Solutions to Ethnocultural Barriers to Kidney Transplantation

In partnership with different ethnic communities, we develop educational guides about kidney health, disease, and transplants that are tailored to each community and address their unique concerns. The guides cover topics that matter to each community about chronic kidney disease, end stage kidney disease and living and deceased donor kidney transplants. Topics not only help patients of different backgrounds to understand their kidney disease, but also help educate a range of communities about kidney health and what they can do about it.

Why is this project important?

Studies show that education tailored to its audience can help people from different ethnic groups gain equal access to kidney transplants; different Canadian ethnic groups do not all receive transplants or donate organs equally according to our studies. Equal access to kidney transplants and donation is vitally important as it is the best treatment to save the lives of patients suffering from end stage kidney disease.
End stage kidney disease is a chronic condition where the kidneys no longer function well enough to meet the demands of daily life. It can be life threatening. While patients may undergo dialysis or receive a kidney transplant to stay alive, the best treatment is getting a living donor kidney transplant . Patients can have a longer life and better quality of live.
Yet, not all ethnocultural groups turn to it, partly because there is little education that tailors to their unique needs, especially in Ontario. Our guides provide this education. Not only does it teach patients and communities as a whole about kidney health and disease in general, it also responds to the ethnocultural issues that are important to them.

How are we carrying out this project?

We partnered with community organizations to create guides catered to different communities. Guides under development include:

How to Get Involved

Contact us at munoresearch@gmail.com. We welcome community partnerships, collaborations with researchers, volunteers, and research students.

If you are applying to join our team as a research student or volunteer, email us with:

1. Resume
2. Motivation letter (1 page)
3. Transcript (if applicable)

How to Support Us

We are a non-profit organization and your support goes a long way in pushing the frontier for chronic kidney disease research and improving care for patients whose lives are affected by the life-changing disease. If you are able to, we invite you to support our work.