NHS Blood and Transplant launched a toolkit at an event in the Houses of Parliament that can be used by Members of Parliament to promote blood and organ donation to people from black communities in their constituencies.
This initiative comes as NHS Blood and Transplant released figures that show in the past six financial years, 1,054 people from black communities in the UK have benefited from life saving organ transplants.
However, in that same time period only 95 organ donors came from black communities. There are over 600 black people on the transplant waiting lists today. There are also too few blood donors, with only one per cent of active blood donors in England coming from black or mixed race communities. Black donors are more likely to have rare blood and tissue types and black patients are more likely to require these rare types.
Therefore it is essential that we have more black blood and organ donors. Additionally, black people are more likely to need an organ transplant than people from white communities, as they are more susceptible to illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and certain forms of hepatitis. This may result in organ failure and the need for a transplant. Kidneys are allocated according to many factors, with blood group and tissue type amongst the most important. Matching is likely to be closer when the ethnicity of the donor and the recipient are closer. As only a small percentage of deceased donors are from black backgrounds, this can delay a suitable kidney match being found and black people will wait on average a year longer for a kidney transplant than people from white backgrounds. People from black communities can also be susceptible to conditions, such as sickle cell disease, which leave them requiring regular blood transfusions. In these cases, blood from donors with a similar ethnic background can provide the best match and better outcomes in the long term for patients. Blood is used for a number of other reasons, such as treating blood cancers or replacing blood loss after childbirth.
It is important that more people from black communities donate so we can have suitably matched blood available for patients who may urgently need it for any reason. Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant said “I hope that MPs will take away this toolkit, and urge their constituents to become donors. There are black patients who need rare blood and black patients are waiting too long for transplants.
“By becoming a blood donor, you can save or improve up to three lives every time you donate. By joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and sharing your decision with your families, you could transform up to nine lives, if you are able to donate after your death.” To register as a blood donor or join the NHS Organ Donor Register call 0300 123 2323. Alternatively, visit www.blood. co.uk and www.organdonation.nhs.uk
