For many patients in need of a transplant the best match will come from a donor from the same ethnic background, and there is a significant shortage in organs coming from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic donors – particularly for kidneys. At present, BAME patients wait significantly longer on average than white people to receive an organ (743 days v 573 days). More blood donors are also needed from a Black background to provide treatments for patients with conditions like sickle cell disease.
The ͯÑÕÊÓƵ project - funded by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) - is being jointly led by Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science, Simonne Weeks, and Senior Lecturer in Nursing, . They will work with students from BAME backgrounds to co-design and co-deliver interactive online events to address changes in the law, misconceptions and clinical need for more BAME donors. The wider aim is to enable networks and communities to be formed and strengthen within, and across, universities in the UK.
Simonne Weeks said: "Our previous NHSBT-funded project enabled 205 conversations about organ donation with 36% of attendees reporting they had ‘not considered registering to be an organ donor prior to the event’. The impact of the education intervention showed 79% of students were ‘likely to register to be an organ donor after the event’ and 74% responded they were ‘likely to talk about organ donation to a friend/family member’."