News

Driving up donation on World Kidney Day - 12 March 2010

Hammersmith Hospital has launched a national campaign aiming to give Black and Asian people the chance of a lifesaving kidney transplant. 

South Asian and African-Caribbean communities are three times more likely to need a transplant, experts say, but the least likely to sign up for the organ donor register (ODR). The latest figures show that while there are 16.9million people on the organ register only 1.2  per cent are Asian and 7.4 per cent are black. 

The campaign, launched by a host of celebrities in Hammersmith, aims to drive up registration and increase kidney donation from live donors such as friends or relatives. 

kidney-launch press release (Pictured from left to right: organ donation celebrity champions Ama K Abebrese, Jaya, Jay Sean and Sonia Deol)




Acute dialysis head nurse at Hammersmith Hospital, Maura Appelbe, said: “A transplant is more likely to be successful if the donor and recipient are from the same ethnic group, but because there is a shortage of compatible donors, people from these communities have to wait on average twice as long as a white person for an organ to be become available. 

“We hope this campaign will help to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions around organ donation, and encourage more people to come forward.” 

Research from 2009 shows that families from ethnic communities sometimes object to organ donation on cultural and religious grounds – even though religion does not prohibit people from donating their organs. 

“People assume that they’ll be able to have a kidney from a deceased donor,” said Maura, “but the list continues to grow every year. 

“Dialysis can put a lot of strain on a person’s life – especially when they’re trying to hold down a job, commute and pay a mortgage. Finding a compatible donor is the best solution.” 

To encourage local people to sign up for the organ donor register, staff from Hammersmith Hospital manned stands at the Westfield Shopping Centre and at Hammersmith Hospital on World Kidney Day (11 March 2010).

To sign up to the organ donor register go to: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 12 23 23. 

The research discoveries it makes and translate them into new and improved treatments and techniques to directly benefit patients throughout the Trust.

ENDS 
For press enquires contact: 
Caroline Weller 
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust press office 
Telephone: 020 3312 1331
Email: caroline.weller@imperial.nhs.uk