Many people don’t realise how important organ donation is. By joining the NHS Organ Donation register you could help save a life after your death.

People of black and Asian origin are three to four times more likely to need a kidney transplant than the rest of the population.

This is because people of south Asian and African-Caribbean origin are particularly susceptible to developing diabetes and high blood pressure, which can lead to kidney and heart failure.

When someone needs a transplant, doctors have to try and match the donor’s and recipient’s blood group and, in the case of kidney transplants, tissue type as well. Patients from the same ethnic group are more likely to be a close match. The closer the match, the greater the likelihood of a successful transplant. Many south Asian and African-Caribbean patients have a blood group and tissue type that is uncommon in the rest of the UK population.

Last year (2007-08) 2,385 organ transplants were performed in the UK thanks to the generosity of 749 people who donated their organs after their death, but out of these, only 32 were of minority ethnic origin.

While almost one in four of all people who need a kidney transplant are black or Asian, the imbalance between need and donation means they have to wait, on average, twice as long as a white person for a kidney transplant. Last year alone, 529 people died while waiting for a transplant – one in seven was from a minority ethnic group.

Maxine Walters, Head of Media and PR at NHS Blood and Transplant said “The problem is that people in general, whatever their culture, do not talk about organ donation with their families. But because of cultural and language barriers, black and Asian communities are even harder to reach.

“Many think that their religion forbids organ donation, but none of the major religions in the UK objects to organ donation and transplantation and in 1996 the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council released a fatwa stating it was acceptable for Muslims to donate organs after their death and to accept organs if they need them.

“The number of people suffering renal failure over the next decade is expected to increase by at least 50%, particularly among black and minority ethnic groups and older people.

“Many people say ‘no’ to donation because they have never discussed it with their loved one or do not know what they would have wanted. That’s why it is so important to raise awareness of the desperate need for more black and Asian donors and to encourage black and Asian people to talk about the issues and register their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

Did you know?

Almost 1 in 4 people waiting for a transplant is from the black or Asian communities.

1 in 13 of all solid organ transplant recipients in 2007-2008 was Asian.
1 in 23 of all solid organ transplant recipients in 2007-2008 was black

The average wait for an adult for a kidney transplant in the UK is 2¼ years.
Black and Asian patients wait an average of about four years for a kidney transplant.

In the last financial year (2007-2008), 529 people died while waiting for a transplant - 1 in 7 was from a minority ethnic group.


Organ donation and the NHS Organ Donor Register

• Every organ donor could save or enhance many lives – one donor can give their heart, lungs, two kidneys, pancreas, liver and small bowel, and restore the sight of two people by donating their corneas. A donor can also give bone and tissue such as skin, heart valves and tendons – skins grafts help people with severe burns and bone is used in orthopaedic surgery.

• More than 8,000 people need an organ transplant; the majority (almost 7,000) need a kidney transplant.

• In 2007-08, 749 people donated solid organs after their death, only 32 were of minority ethnic origin.

• Almost 16 million people have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register, pledging to give their organs when they die, since it was set up in October 1994.

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register call the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 or visit
www.uktransplant.org.uk


For further information contact the NHS Blood and Transplant press office on 0117 975 7475 or 7477.