Last year there were 1,212 people who donated their organs after their death, but of those just 56 were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. People from BAME communities only constitute 5% of organ donors despite representing 27% of those on the transplant waiting list.
This year’s National Transplant Week (July 8-14), is an opportunity to highlight the urgent need for people from BAME communities to become organ donors and for those already on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) to tell others how important and easy it is to let those closest to them know that they want to be an organ donor.
Having a conversation about organ donation is vitally important as one thousand people a year, that’s three a day, die in the UK because of a shortage of organs for transplant. Despite the thousands of life-saving transplant operations which take place every year, around 7,300 people are on the transplant waiting list in the UK and the number of patients from a BAME background on the kidney transplant waiting list has increased by 15% over the last four years.
Faith leaders from all the major religions in the UK have shown their support for National Transplant Week and are encouraging followers of all faiths to sign up to the ODR and discuss their wishes with their families. They said:
“More than 1,000 people who need an organ transplant die every year because of a shortage of donated organs”.
Besides having the conversation about organ donation, signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register remains crucial. Joining is quick and easy – to register visit transplantweek.co.uk, call 0300 123 2323 or text DONATE to 62323.
