The authors argue that encouraging organ donation by increasing the number of Hispanic donors, who tend not to be organ donors, would benefit all ethnic groups. Hispanics donate less frequently for a variety of reasons that are often related to the characteristics of the medical staff, as well as patient and family preferences. Such reasons might include a lack of adequate communication between Puerto Ricans and the medical community, overburdened neurosurgical and resident staff, and lack of knowledge and poor attitudes of neurological and general surgical residents due to rapid turnover and discontinuity of information.

While little is known about other types of barriers to donation for Hispanic populations, the “Dominguez Paradox” had been documented in several surveys. This means that survey respondents are more likely to agree to donate their own organs after death than that of a deceased relative for transplantation to another person.

The authors highlight areas for future research, including increased attention to the growing Hispanic population as potential donors and identifying the specific structural and individual barriers toward donation that are common among ethnic minorities and those that are specific to Hispanic populations.