A top transplant expert has called for more black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) organ donors to come forward and save countless lives.
This week (5th to 11th September 2016) is Organ Donation Week, a time where the transplant community promotes the benefits of donation nationally and across local communities.
Professor Magdi Yaqoob, academic director of renal medicine and transplantation at the country's largest NHS Trust, Barts Health, has said that many more people are needed to donate – especially from BAME communities.
Across London, which has a very high ethnic population, just over 27.8% per cent of people are on the NHS Organ Donation Register.
Over 1300 people in the UK died, or became too ill to receive a transplant whilst on the organ donation waiting list in 2015/16.
Ethnicity is important to the success of some organ transplants because a better match is needed, and more likely to be found from within a particular community. People from BAME communities are also more likely to need a transplant due to a higher incidence of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and certain types of hepatitis. This means that black and minority ethnic people in need of a kidney transplant are more likely to wait longer than white people, due to an increased need for organs and fewer suitable donors.
According to NHS Blood and Transplant, only 67 out of 1,364 deceased donors in the UK were from the BAME community in 2015/16 – while 1,686 patients from the BAME community waited for an organ transplant.
Professor Yaqoob, said: "It is important that we raise awareness of organ donation all year round, not just during this awareness week – especially in black and minority ethnic communities. We are seeing more people in those communities wait longer and die simply because there are not enough organs that match their needs.
"Here in east London we particularly need to do more. Despite having a world-leading trauma centre and kidney transplant centre at The Royal London, only just over 27.8 per cent of Londoners are on the NHS Organ Donor Register. This must improve if we are to save the lives of local people."
To mark Organ Donation Week, NHS Blood and Transplant are calling on people to help ‘Turn an End, Into a Beginning.’ The campaign encourages people to talk about organ donation with their family and friends.
Every day across the UK, around three people who could have benefited from a transplant die because there aren’t enough organ donors. And currently around 6,500 people are on the waiting list for a transplant.
Currently, NHS Blood and Transplant figures show that only 47% of families agree to organ donation if they are unaware of their loved one’s decision to be a donor. Yet almost 90% of families give their consent (or authorisation in Scotland) when the decision to be an organ donor is known.
Anthony Clarkson, assistant director for organ donation and nursing at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Too many families faced with the possibility of donating a relative’s organs, do not know what they wanted and find themselves having to make a decision on their behalf. This makes what is already an emotional and difficult time, even harder. It is therefore vital you tell your family about your organ donation decision to make it much easier for them to support what you want.
“Many donor families say that donation helps with their grief and they feel enormous pride at knowing that their relative went on to save lives after they died – giving others the chance of a new beginning. So please talk to your relatives and tell them that should the time come, you want them to support your decision to save lives after your death.”
Start a conversation today and help turn an end into a beginning. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register and make sure you tell your friends and family your decision.
Visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23. Share your decision with your friends, using hashtag #
