'MORE ORGAN DONORS FROM BRITISH ETHNIC MINORITIES NEEDED' SAYS PROFESSOR

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.

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