BLACK DONORS are being targeted to help combat ongoing shortages in organ donation through new projects committed to eliminating the health inequalities and saving hundreds of lives.

Thousands of pounds in funding is set to be given to several projects to promote kidney donation among black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities who are still the least likely groups to register as organ donors. 

The Living Kidney Transplant Scheme has launched as part of NHS Blood and Transplant’s commitment to addressing the shortage of organs available for those from diverse backgrounds who are awaiting life-saving transplants. 

Research has shown that for many patients in need of a transplant, the best match will come from a donor of the same ethnic background. 

In the UK, there are currently 5,903 people waiting for an organ transplant with figures revealing that there are 4,676 people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

A shocking 1,554 patients waiting are from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid described the decision to donate a kidney is  “incredibly personal,” but that it is vital that communities come together to talk about the life saving choice. 

“With over 1,500 people from ethnic minority backgrounds on the waiting list, we need more people from these communities to consider becoming living organ donors.

“This funding will help community organisations to start more conversations and save more lives,” he said.

One of the seven projects supported by the £100,000 funding is the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) who aim to engage and encourage people from the African and Caribbean backgrounds into becoming a living kidney donor.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients often have to endure significantly longer waiting periods for a successful match than white patients due to a shortage of suitably matched donors. 

Kidney donors and recipients are matched by blood group and tissue type, which means people from the same ethnic background are more likely to have matching blood groups and tissue types.

Through schemes like The Living Kidney Transplant and grassroots organisations like ACLT,  

that champion organ donation in a culturally relevant way, experts hope to increase awareness and create health equity for all communities. 

Orin Lewis OBE, Co-founder and Chief Executive of ACLT, said: “Living donation has been of great importance to the work of ACLT since 2010, when the charity made a commitment to raise awareness and assist to increase the number of people of African Caribbean heritage living in the UK, who consider being an organ donor. This commitment is due to our belief that no patient in urgent need of transplantation should die waiting for a matched donor.

He added: “There is no greater gift, than giving the gift of life to someone else. So, to be in a position for our organisation to continue championing living donation, encouraging people within the African Caribbean communities to become lifesavers whilst they are alive, we are honoured to be one of the successful candidates for the Living Kidney Transplant Scheme.”