Diversity among transplant surgery fellowship program directors: a call to action

Background: The diversity among general surgery residency, HPB and other fellowship program di-rectors has been previously analyzed. However, the diversity in abdominal transplant surgery fellowship program directors remains unknown. Methods: Abdominal transplant fellowship programs and the corresponding program directors were identified from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons website. Demographic and training infor-mation for the members was compiled through internet searches and analyzed. Results: 72 program directors were included. 83.33% were male. 63.9% were non-Hispanic White, 25% were Asian, along with 5.56% Hispanic and Black each. Male program directors were more likely to be Associate Professor (p = 0.041), while females were more likely to be Assistant Professor (p = 0.021). 66% of female program directors were non-Hispanic White. Conclusion: Transplant surgery fellowship programs are primarily led by male and non-Hispanic White surgeons. Female representation as leaders is on par with their membership in the transplant surgery workforce. There is a deficiency of both male and female underrepresented minorities in program director positions.