Faith Leaders Back Campaign For More Black And Asian Donors, UK

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 08 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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Faith leaders from several of the UK's major religions are lending their support to a campaign to tackle the growing ethnic minority 'donor gap'.

The UK Transplant campaign - titled 'Can we count on you?' - has received backing from Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh leaders, who recognise that more black and Asian organ donors are needed to increase the number of life-saving transplants for people from these communities.

The latest element of the awareness-raising drive is seeing campaign leaflets and posters being displayed in 4,116 mosques, temples, churches, community centres and pharmacies in towns and cities across England.

By enlisting the support of faith leaders, the campaign seeks to dispel common myths that are known to affect donation rates, such as assumed religious objections. In fact, none of the major faiths practised in the UK forbid donation.

The Council of African and Afro-Caribbean Churches is a Christian coalition, led by Reverend Father Olu Abiola, who stressed that discussing organ donation with family and friends is a responsible and thoughtful act. He said: "Enabling life to be lived as fully as possible is consistent with the teaching of the Son of God, Jesus Christ."

In 1995, the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council UK issued a fatwa (religious ruling) supporting organ transplantation as a means of relieving pain or saving life. Dr Abdullah Shehu, from the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The consensus of The Muslim World League in Makkah, The Organisation of Islamic Conference in Jeddah and the Islamic Juridical Academy of India has encouraged organ donation as being a noble act and a measure to save lives. It is one of the five indispensable goals of Islam to save life."

There is also clear support for organ donation within the principles of Hinduism, provided it fulfils the criteria of Dharma (righteous living), according to Sanjay Jagatia, General Secretary, from the National Council of Hindu Temples. " Whilst organ donation is down to individual choice , every act or intention of anyone should be according to the dharmic tradition. The Hindu scriptures stress the importance of performing noble deeds of selfless giving and sacrifice. Therefore, it is right to donate organs, only if the act of donating an organ has beneficial results," he said.

Dr Indarjit Singh, Director from the Network of Sikh Organisations, stressed the importance of giving and putting others before oneself as being at the heart of Sikh philosophy and teachings. He said: "Saving a human life is one of the greatest things one can do so for this reason, donating organs after death is acceptable to Sikhs."

The information in the leaflets highlights the fact that black and Asian people are three times more likely to need a kidney transplant than the general population. Almost 1,800 need a transplant, and their chances of success are greater if they can be matched with a donor from the same ethnic origin.

But with black and Asian people accounting for fewer than 2% of deceased donors, transplant patients from these communities typically wait twice as long as others for a suitable donor to become available. Last year, almost 60 black and Asian patients died while waiting.

The campaign urges black and Asian people to help tackle the 'donor gap' by discussing organ donation and signing up to the NHS Organ Donor Register. The number of black and Asian people joining the register has increased in recent years, but the need for donated organs continues to rise.

UK Transplant campaigns and marketing manager Tamsin May said: "There is a shortage of organ donors of all ethnic backgrounds, but the problem is particularly acute among the black and south Asian communities.

"By working in partnership with faith leaders across major religions we are looking to explain to people that organ donation is something they can and should think about. After they have discussed it with family and friends, we would encourage them to take that next step and join the NHS Organ Donor Register."

You can find out more about organ donation and join the NHS Organ Donor Register by telephoning 0845 60 60 400 or visiting www.uktransplant.org.uk

-- 'Can we count on you?' was launched in March 2007 with leaflets and posters distributed to local businesses in areas with large black and Asian populations.
-- Black and Asian celebrity supporters of the campaign include TV comedians Curtis Walker, Nina Wadia and Gina Yashere, and actors Asif Khan and Kwame Kwei-Armah.
-- A podcast, featuring comedian Curtis Walker and Professor of Public Health Gurch Randhawa, has been produced by UK Transplant to support the 'Can we count on you?' campaign and can be downloaded from our website, www.uktransplant.org.uk
-- People from African-Caribbean and south Asian communities are three times more likely to suffer from kidney failure due to diet and lifestyle factors, as well as increased susceptibility to diabetes and high blood pressure, which can cause organ failure.
-- Organ transplant recipients are matched to donors using criteria such as blood type, as well as tissue type (for kidney patients), and the chances of a successful match are greater if the two share the same ethnic origin.
-- At the end of 2006 there were 1,798 black and Asian patients actively listed for an organ transplant, a 17% increase on the 2005 year-end figure. The majority needed a kidney transplant.
-- Black people wait an average of 1,389 days for a kidney transplant and Asian people an average of 1,496 days. In contrast, white patients wait an average of 722 days.
-- Key barriers to donation among black and Asian communities include assumed cultural or religious objections to donation, confusion about who can donate and receive organs, a reluctance to discuss death, and fear of bodily disfigurement. (Connect Research and Consultancy Ltd for UK Transplant, April 2006.)
-- UK Transplant has promoted organ donation to black and Asian communities via attendance at Asian melas, a promotional partnership with the Ethnic Minority Foundation, press and outdoor advertising and leaflet campaigns. The number of people recording their ethnicity as black or south Asian when joining the NHS Organ Donor Register has risen from 9,086 in 2003 to 20,969 by the end of 2006.

UK Transplant is the NHS organisation responsible for matching and allocating donated organs. It is part of NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), a Special Health Authority within the NHS that manages the National Blood Service, Bio Products Laboratory, and UK Transplant.

http://www.uktransplant.org.uk

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