‘It’s freedom:’ The realities of Black healthcare through the eyes of a Chattanooga native

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — According to the National Institute of Health, survival rates for black recipients for a kidney are generally lower than those for white, Hispanic, or asian recipients.

We break down the tough conversations affecting blacks in the healthcare realm, and how local organizations are pitching in to close that gap.

Almost half of the more than 3,000 Tennesseans waiting for life-saving transplants are African American. Meet Adam Cowan, an organ recipient who walks us through his journey and the challenges he faced waiting on the right donor.

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Chattanooga native Adam Cowan started his transplant journey nearly 12 years ago.

He says doctors in Atlanta made an error during a biopsy, which caused him to go into kidney failure.

“I started the journey in February of 2020, March of 2020, the world shut down. That shutdown was actually a blessing to me, as he gave me the next year and a half to make sure I was where I needed to be, to be transplanted, said Adam Cowan, Organ Transplant, Kidney Recipient.”

After visiting several states, he got a new kidney in Birmingham in 2023.

Adam became an advocate for the black community when he saw others who looked like him were only seeking Dialysis for treatment.

“I think what affected me the most was looking around the room. There were disproportionate numbers of people who looked like me, who had accepted that dialysis is a way of life. And I try to tell people, even today, dialysis is not your life. Dialysis is a tool, said Adam Cowan, Organ Transplant, Kidney Recipient.”

Non-profit Tennessee Donor Services says the state’s donor registry is a legally-binding way to let doctors and your loved ones know your wishes for after you die. Dawn Benjamin says a lower percentage of the black community signs up for list.

“Out of that, 3,045% of the people on the list in the state of Tennessee are black. Blacks are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes, three times more likely to have kidney failure, said Dawn Benjamin, External Affairs Coordinator, Tennessee Donor Services.”

The National Kidney Foundation says the average time for someone waiting for a kidney is three to five years at most transplant centers. I asked Adam what was “the right fit for him”, and he knew to answer the call.

” I got the kid that was Memorial Day going towards surgery. I was thinking, wow, nine years this is about to happen. Happy, sad, scared, happy, mostly happy. Woke up the next morning, surgery was done, I started walking, and I’ve been walking ever since. It’s freedom. The transplant, for me, was freedom, said Adam Cowan, Organ Transplant, Kidney Recipient.”

Now, Adam helps advocate for the black and brown communities across Chattanooga and the surrounding areas for patients to ask for information about transplants.

For more information about how to register, visit here.