Religion and culture overwhelmingly hold black and Asian people back from donating organs. Without guidance from religious leaders, they’ll continue to suffer disproportionately low donor rates
Deciding whether or not to donate your organs after death probably rarely crosses the average person’s mind.
If you’ve never known someone in need of a life-saving organ transplant you may not be aware of the NHS’s desperation for organ donors. And if you’re not black or Asian you’re unlikely to know that BAME patients have to wait significantly longer than white patients for organs to become available.
Over the next year conversations about organ donation will become more common, as from 2020 adults in England will have to actively opt out of being on the potential donor register
This news might have offered some hope for the BAME community, who, as a result of disproportionately low donor rates, have borne the brunt of racial disparity in transplant waiting times.
But a report published this week by the London Assembly suggests that it’s going to take serious and organised efforts over the next year to change BAME attitudes to remaining on the organ donor register, and it is our faith leaders who need to take charge of leading the conversations we need to make a difference.
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Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, UK