Swedish, UNOS Sued Over Race-Adjusted Kidney Scores

A lawsuit filed July 21 against Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center and the United Network for Organ Sharing alleges the organizations relied on a race-based kidney function formula that delayed the plaintiff's transplant waitlist eligibility by six years, according to Becker's Hospital Review. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The case centers on race-adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations, which for years applied a correction factor for Black patients that made their kidney function appear better than it was. In practice, that pushed some patients later onto transplant waitlists and delayed access to care. Clinical bodies including the National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology have since recommended dropping the race variable, and the transplant system moved to let affected patients reclaim lost waiting time.

The suit tests whether hospitals and the national organ network can be held liable for harm caused by algorithms once considered standard, a question with implications well beyond kidney care.