LOLA: Serving Latinos with Liver Disease

Latino-Americans have a 40% greater chance of being infected with hepatitis C than the general population.

One in every 50 Latinos in the United States has hepatitis C, which means 2% of the Latino community is infected.

Until fairly recently, Spanish-language medical information on hepatitis and other liver diseases was virtually nonexistent in the United States.

One grass-roots community group has been working since 1994 to change this: the Latino Organization for Live, Awareness (LOLA).

LOLA is the first national organization to address awareness, prevention and treatment of liver disease among Latinos.

After being diagnosed with autoimmune chronic hepatitis in 1992, activist Debbie Delgado-Vega as was frustrated by her fruitless search for Spanish-language educational materials on the disease.

As she discovered, even donor cards and information were printed exclusively in English.

With the help of her community, Delgado-Vega soon began to translate information on liver disease treatment and prevention.

Today, LOLA distributes English/Spanish bilingual educational materials on relevant issues to physicians, hospitals and patients.

The organization also strives to serve the Latino population through patient referrals, recruiting Spanish-speaking volunteers to visit hospitals and holding monthly support groups for those battling liver disease.

One of LOLA's main objectives is to increase Latino-American participation in organ-donor programs.

For more information, contact LOLA at (888) 367-LOLA, or visit the organization's website (www.lola-national.org).

- Nicole Seymour