Barbershop Health Initiative To Report Results

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- African-American leaders will gather in Minneapolis on Monday evening to hear results from a three-year initiative aimed at improving the health of African-American men in the Twin Cities. It's called Barbershop Conversations.

One of the goals has been to increase support for organ and tissue donation. Organizers say African-Americans are less likely than men from other groups to designate themselves as donors. But they're at increased risk for organ failure because they're more prone to serious health conditions such as such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

To get the word out, 26 barbers in African-American communities across the Twin Cities were recruited three years ago so they could convey the information to their clients. Thus the name Barbershop Conversations.

The initiative was led by LifeSource, which promotes organ donation.

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