‘The effects of COVID-19 will still be felt by vulnerable people like me long after it has gone’

Tayo Idowu from south east London recently celebrated receiving a new kidney after being diagnosed with kidney failure in 2010. But, as he tells Vic Motune, he fears that coronavirus will bring new challenges for those seeking an organ donation

LOW IMMUNITY: 'My initial jubilation has now been turned into deep concern and dare I say fright at my heightened vulnerability to COVID-19'

THE LAST few years have seen a number of campaigns aimed at increasing the number of organ donors from black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

The campaigns were launched in response to the fact that BAME people are more likely to have diseases that lead to organ failure such as Type 2 diabetes which can cause chronic kidney disease.

People of African and African-Caribbean descent are three times more likely to develop diabetes than white people. 

Not enough donors

The situation is made worse because not enough BAME people are registering to become organ donors

Efforts to get more black people to register as donors have had an impact. 

MOMENTUM: Tayo with his sister Dela, founder of the charity GOLD

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, despite organ donations from BAME communities at a record high.

However, there is still a chronic shortage. 

Statistics show that 32% of those awaiting a transplant were from BAME backgrounds, even though just 13% of the general population is from these communities.

People from the BAME communities represented just eight percent of all deceased donors last year.

Those who have received organ donations, such as south-east Londoner Tayo Idowu, have described how their lives and those of their families have been immeasurably changed. 

Among them is south Londoner Tayo Idowu who first received a kidney donation in October 2014.

Following that successful transplant he told The Voice about the joy he felt after being diagnosed with kidney failure in 2010.

He has received a second transplant in December 2019.  

New challenges

However the current lockdown has brought new challenges. 

People living with kidney disease,  patients on dialysis and transplant recipients, appear to be at increased risk of severe infection and mortality from COVID-19.

Below, he tells The Voice about life in lockdown.

“The current lockdown was instigated to prevent the spread of the virus, reduce the burden on the NHS to deal with the crisis and most importantly to prevent death in particular amongst the aged and those who fell under the government list of ‘underlying conditions’. 

I unfortunately fall into this category as I have low immunity due to my recent transplant. 

‘I cannot leave my house for the next three months’

My initial jubilation has now been turned into deep concern and dare I say fright at my heightened vulnerability. For us catching the virus is matter of life or death. 

“This fact will play on my mind anytime any time I venture out our come in close proximity to anyone other than my household even my sister, nieces and other close friends. 

Social distancing will be the order for me. 

“COVID-19 has affected my life in so many ways. The most obvious is that I cannot leave the house for any circumstances for the next three months, such is my susceptibility.

“This means I’m no longer able to go shopping, go outside for walks or exercise. I’m in effect a prisoner in my own home. 

Extremely wary

“Even when the crisis is over to a degree, people like us will still have to extremely wary and constantly on edge when we venture out in case we contract vestiges of the virus that will surely be present in many untested people carrying the infection. 

I was lucky to have my kidney transplant late December 2019, just before the virus broke out. There are now many hundreds of patients on dialysis who because of the government clampdown on organ transplantation will not be able to receive a life-saving donation either from a loved one or deceased donor for the foreseeable future. 

EXTRA MEASURES: Social distancing is especially important for people like Tayo

My heart goes out to them because I know how much my life has changed dramatically since my transplant. I no longer experience fatigue, cramps, itching, loss of appetite, swollen feet, restricted diet and fluids and many other challenges dialysis patients will be familiar with. 

Massive imbalance of black donors

My fear is that the crisis does not put off family and friends from coming forward as potential donors in case they catch the virus during the process leading to donation. We still need living donors to come forward to make up the massive imbalance of black donors. 

Currently the BME community make up over 60 percent of people needing kidney donations even though we only make up about 14% of its population. This statistics means that we need more Black donors so that we can give many in our community that essential gift of life they take for granted.

There are now many hundreds of patients on dialysis who because of the government clampdown on organ transplantation will not be able to receive a life-saving donation

Tayo Idowu

To this end many organisations such as the black charity GOLD (Gift of Living Donation) are still working tirelessly in the background to keep up the momentum of raising awareness of organ donation within the black community as well as reassuring those that are awaiting a transplant.

Huge impact

My sister Dela, the founder of GOLD says: ‘COVID-19 is having a huge impact on patients with  chronic kidney disease and especially with the black community. This is a very worrying time for patients and  family members who were in the process of being worked up for a living donor transplant.’

The effect and challenges the COVID-19 crisis brought will still be with felt by vulnerable people like myself long after the it has fallen out of the public’s consciousness.”

For further information about GOLD, please click here 

Comments Form

2 Comments

  1. | nigel

    I have never read a compelling reason why the donation of organs should be race specific? If I am black and my organs could be donated to a white person if they match, and if someone is white and the converse is true, how does the imbalance arise? How can my organs be guaranteed to go to a black person simply because I am black? Why don’t more black donors simply mean more opportunity for white patients or vice-versa?

    Reply

  2. | Dela

    Hi,
    One of the reasons why we encourage more people from the black community to come forward as donors is more to do with tissue type and blood groups. People from the same ethnic group have a closer tissue type which can result into better matching for a organ transplant. I hope this explaination has been helpful.

    Reply

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