This month I want to talk about the importance of active involvement of our community in saving the lives of hundreds of people each year.
As Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall many of my constituents are of BAME origin. BAME people wait an average of six months longer for transplants than do their white counterparts and face the struggle of comparatively rare blood and tissue types. Those from BAME backgrounds are more likely to develop conditions that result in the need for organ transplants and those requiring bone marrow donations are more likely to find a match with someone from a similar ethnic background. Although there has been a fantastic increase in the number of donors overall in the past ten years, the number of BAME organ and tissue donors has only increased by 7% - this translates directly into more deaths for our community.
We are in need of a drastic increase in both living and deceased organ donation from members of our community.
Last month I voted for England to shift to an opt-out system for organ donation rather than our current opt-in system, and that will raise the number of BAME donors. However, families within our community are just as important as the donors themselves. Under the current system, if you have not registered with the NHS Organ Donor Registry, and your wishes are unclear, your doctor will ask your family or an appointed representative about your organ & tissue donation. 64% of BAME families refuse permission for donation compared to only 43% for the rest of the population. Research shows that religion is quite often a barrier to loved ones consenting to organ donation because they feel that their religion doesn’t allow it, but in fact, all major religions in the UK support the principles of organ donation.
Further education for our families is necessary to increase donations. When the wishes of the deceased are unclear, and our emotions are cloudy immediately after their death, it can be difficult to make the decision to donate at that time. As organ donation is a time sensitive issue (For example, eyes have a 6 hour window after death to be donated) making your wishes about organ donation clear within a will often will not allow enough time for donation to be carried out. Discussing your wishes with family well in advance can mean that you will save a life. Further education on organ donation and debunking myths about religious exclusion from the practice is necessary to save more lives, as is discussion with family members prior to death regarding organ donation. Awareness must be raised within our schools and communities here in the UK if we wish to save lives and increase quality of life for countless individuals.
Through the NHS Organ Donor Registry you can choose which organs you would like to donate, and choose if you would like to donate your eyes and tissues as well. The fantastic work of Mr Ashok Kumar Mehra, Dr Ramesh Chand and their campaign with Punarjot’s eye bank has been an admirable and impressive effort towards a “corneal blindness free world”. They have already offered over 5000 free transplants in India, the success of which would not have been possible without informed donors. The willingness of donors and their families, combined with the efforts and knowledge of Dr Chand, have made all the difference for thousands of families across India in the past 25 years. The team’s success and their mission of moving towards a corneal blindness free world has set an example not only for doctors in India, but doctors across the world.
