CareDx Joins Forces with MOTTEP to Increase Organ Donations for Minority Transplant Patients and Support High-Risk, Underserved Communities

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareDx, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNA) – The Transplant Company™ focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers – today announced its partnership with MOTTEP (Minority Organ Tissue Transplant and Education Program) to help advance its mission of increasing the number of minority-donated organs and greater adoption of disease prevention behaviors which reduce the incidence of end-stage disease and the need for organ transplantation in high-risk, underserved communities.

The national Minority Organ Tissue Transplant and Education Program or MOTTEP was founded by Dr. Clive Callender, a trailblazer in the transplantation medical community who developed the country’s first minority-focused dialysis and transplant center in 1973 as a renal transplant physician at Howard University Hospital. MOTTEP’s mission is to reduce the rate and number of ethnic minority Americans needing organ and tissue transplants through disease prevention education and to increase minority organ donations to improve transplant success by finding better matches from similar minority ethnic groups.

“CareDx and MOTTEP share a focused dedication to transplant patient care, and we are honored to partner with them to improve health equity for all transplant patients,” said Reg Seeto, CEO and President of CareDx. “We hope our sponsorship will lead to more signups for organ registries and more compatibility matches in minority communities, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Just as importantly, we hope to make meaningful connections so we can educate those who do undergo a transplant about the importance of medication adherence and post-transplant surveillance to increase their life expectancy and preserve their new organ over the long-term.”

Sixty percent of the more than 100,000 U.S. patients waiting for life-saving organ transplants come from minority communities, ^1,2 which have significantly higher rates of diabetes, high-blood pressure, hypertension, and kidney disease^3,4 due to long-standing racial and socioeconomic disparities and challenges in accessing quality healthcare. While organ transplants can be successful regardless of the ethnicity of the donor, the chances for long-term survival may be higher if the donor and recipient are a close genetic match.⁵

“I applaud CareDx’s commitment to advance health equity in transplantation and its attention to the needs of patients from historically underrepresented communities who have been hit disproportionately hard,” said MOTTEP founder Dr. Clive Callender. “This sponsorship will fund critical communication and education activities that will advance our goal of preventing transplants where possible and increase minority organ donations to achieve better matches and outcomes for minority transplant recipients. We are grateful for CareDx’s leadership and support to improve transplantation outcomes for all patients in need.”

Individuals can register to become an organ donor at organdonor.gov or donatelifeamerica.org. To learn more about the importance of minority organ donation and preventative healthcare strategies, visit the MOTTEP website.

About CareDx – The Transplant Company
CareDx, Inc., headquartered in South San Francisco, California, is a leading precision medicine solutions company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers. CareDx offers testing services, products, and digital healthcare solutions along the pre- and post-transplant patient journey and is the leading provider of genomics-based information for transplant patients. For more information, please visit: www.CareDx.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements related to CareDx, Inc., including statements regarding the potential benefits and results that may be achieved with the partnership with MOTTEP. These forward-looking statements are based upon information that is currently available to CareDx and its current expectations, speak only as of the date hereof, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks that CareDx does not realize the expected benefits of the partnership with MOTTEP; general economic and market factors; and other risks discussed in CareDx’s filings with the SEC, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed by CareDx with the SEC on February 24, 2021, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2021 ended on March 31, 2021 filed by CareDx with the SEC on May 5, 2021, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2021 ended on June 30, 2021 filed by CareDx with the SEC on July 29, 2021, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2021 ended on September 30, 2021, filed by CareDx with the SEC on October 28, 2021, and other reports that CareDx has filed with the SEC. Any of these may cause CareDx’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied by CareDx’s forward-looking statements. CareDx expressly disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, or undertaking to update or revise any such forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS:

CareDx, Inc.
Sasha King
Chief Marketing Officer
415-287-2393
sking@caredx.com

Investor Relations
Ian Cooney
(415) 722-4563
investor@CareDx.com

References:

1. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics. Accessed online on December 16, 2021.
2. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/398511/number-of-us-candidates-on-organ-waiting-list-by-ethnicity/. Accessed online on December 16, 2021.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Offices of Minority Health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=27. Accessed online on December 16, 2021.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/hispanic-health/index.html. Accessed online on December 16, 2021.
5. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). https://www.hrsa.gov/enews/past-issues/2020/august-6/national-minority-donor-awareness-month. Accessed online on December 16, 2021.