The following is a summary of “Liver transplantation for people of minoritised sexual and gender identities in the USA,” published in the December 2023 issue of Gastroenterology & Hepatology by Lee et al.

Over the last ten years, there has been a rise in the number of individuals in the United States who identify as belonging to sexual or gender identities that are considered to be minority groups. These individuals include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexuality-diverse and gender-diverse identities. 

Not only does this varied and one-of-a-kind community continue to face health inequalities, but it also continues to face psychological, economic, and legal inequities when it comes to obtaining and getting health treatment like liver transplants. Understanding the factors that can affect access to and quality of liver transplantation care in people of minority sexual and gender identities in the United States is essential. The factors included differences in social support, insurance coverage, and medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Liver transplantation is a life-saving procedure for people who have reached the end stage of liver disease. 

To ensure that people of sexual and gender identities that are underrepresented have equitable access to high-quality liver transplantation care, it was necessary to take specific actions. The actions included the collection of data on sexual orientation and gender identity, the implementation of inclusive language, the recognition of implicit biases, the formation of diverse teams, the provision of a safer environment, and the support of further research to understand better the specific health challenges that they face.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468125323002388