Pop princess Alesha Dixon and Homeland star David Harewood have thrown their weight behind a new drive to increase life-saving organ and stem cell donations, Public Health Minister Anne Milton announced today
Leading charities and organisations in the field including the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), the National Kidney Federation and the South Asian Health Foundation have been brought together to increase donor numbers in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations
The group hopes to change attitudes to donation and transplantation within these communities
Every year, 180 people from these ethnic groups die waiting for a transplant because of a chronic shortage of suitable organs. Alesha and David are joining forces with stars including soul singer Beverley Knight and Bond film star Colin Salmon to back the campaign for more donors
The new group, the National BAME Transplant Alliance, will bring together people with in-depth knowledge of hard-to-reach communities to look at why donor rates are lower. Issues that will be examined include:
• 80 per cent of families do not given consent for organ to be used for transplant - compared to a national average of 25 per cent; and
• there is a 40 per cent match rate for bone marrow and bone marrow cord blood donations, compared to 90 per cent in other patients
Members of the group will work to raise awareness of current inequalities and promote the importance of donation. They will also support other charities and give them advice on how to get the message across. The ultimate goal is to save lives
Former Public Health Minister Anne Milton said:
"Giving an organ or bone marrow is to give the gift of life. Nearly 200 people from Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority backgrounds die each year waiting for an organ. Lower levels of donation means those in need of a transplant often wait three times longer
"We want everyone to seriously think about joining the donor register and make the time to discuss your wishes with family members. With the backing of stars like Alesha Dixon and David Harewood, we want potential donors to come forward and show they are life-savers."
Alesha Dixon said: "I am honoured that I have been asked to be a Donor Ambassador. Black and Asian people are dying because there are not enough people from our communities coming forward as bone marrow/stem cell or organ donors. We can change this"
Actor David Harewood said: "As a bone marrow/stem cell donor, I know how important it is to for people from Black and other Ethnic Minority backgrounds to come forward and sign up to donate their blood, organs and stem cells. By becoming a donor, you have the potential not only to save someone's life, but to change the lives of their friends and family too"
Case study 1
Transplant patient Harminder Dhaliwal thought her days on dialysis were over after she received a new kidney 16 years ago
But the 43-year-old community nurse is now back on the waiting list after her new organ began to fail in 2008 due to a kidney disorder. Mum-of-two Harminder is now hoping for a new organ match but knows that it may be more difficult second time around
"I have now been back on dialysis for more than two years and also back on the waiting list for a new kidney. It's a little bit harder the second time to get one that matches because of the increased antibodies in the system
"It's hard to take because it's just a waiting game, and you struggle some of the time because of the dialysis and how the condition makes you feel. You have your ups and downs, but generally it's ok. The dialysis is better than it was before. I had to have dialysis manually four times a day before, but now I go on a machine at night, so that makes it easier
"Now the struggle I have is for my kids having to cope with having a mum who isn't able to give them the motherly care they need. I find it difficult and feel they miss out
Case study 2
Claire received a life-saving liver transplant in August 2011. She was diagnosed in 2008 with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, an incurable autoimmune disease which was slowly destroying her liver
"I was on the waiting list for a new liver for a year, during which time my condition quickly deteriorated. My energy levels were very low and I was in increasing pain and discomfort, to the point where even everyday tasks like looking after my daughter became incredibly difficult or unmanageable"
"Although there wasn't a liver available for me yet I was admitted to intensive care for two months at Kings College Hospital as my health had got to breaking point
Fortunately a liver arrived just in time to save Claire's life and the transplant took place
"I'd been on the organ donor register since I was sixteen but I never thought that one day I might need an organ myself
It's an amazing life-saving gift not only for the patient, but for their family as well. The anonymous donor who gave me a liver gave my daughter back her mummy."
A full list of the group members is below:
- African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT)
- Afiya Trust
- Anthony Nolan
- DWIB Leukaemia Trust
- Hindu Forum of Britain
- Institute for Health Research
- Kidney Research UK
- Muslim Student Healthcare Network
- NHS Blood and Transplant
- National Kidney Federation
- Race Equality Foundation
- Rik Basra Leukaemia Campaign
- Seventh Day Adventist Church
- South Asian Health Foundation
CLICK HERE for a link to the Dept. of health website
NBTA Co-Chair and Chief Executive of ACLT Orin Lewis OBE - Feels honoured to be a co-chair of this life saving Dept. of Health initiative and his role is an extension to the life saving work of the ACLT charity
Beverley De-Gale OBE
