NHS Organ Donation Campaign
Black and minority ethnic communities
People from South Asian, African and Afro-Caribbean communities living in the UK are more likely to need a kidney transplant than the rest of the population:
- Black people are three times as likely as the general population to develop kidney failure
- The need for organs in the Asian community is three to four times higher.
This is because people from these communities are more likely to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, both of which are major causes of kidney failure.
Unfortunately, while the need for donor organs is three to four times higher than among the general population, donation rates are relatively low among black and South Asian communities, thus reducing the chance of a successful match being found.
Therefore not only are members of these communities at higher risk of kidney failure, it is also harder to find a suitable donor and waiting lists are growing. Although living donor kidney transplantation can help some of these patients, it is also essential to increase the number of people from these communities who are willing to donate organs after their death.
All the major religions of the UK support the principles of organ donation and transplantation.
Publicity campaigns are currently being run to raise awareness among the South Asian and African-Caribbean communities.
