天美传媒

Prof Gurch Randhawa, who is Director of the Institute for Health Research, believes that (5^th 鈥� 11th September) is the perfect opportunity for people to tell their lives ones that they wish to donate their organs when they pass away.

鈥淥rgan failure doesn鈥檛 discriminate. It affects all ethnic and social class groups and it is vital that organ donors come from all communities as tissue type matching is more successful with people from the same ethnic groups, said Gurch.

Three people die every day waiting for a transplant and there are over 6,500 people currently on the list waiting for one.

鈥淚鈥檝e worked with and in the NHS for the last 20 years and I鈥檝e seen huge improvements in healthcare. However, I鈥檝e seen a lot of people die waiting for an organ transplant due to the lack of organ donors,鈥� said Gurch.

A recent report from NHS Blood & Transplants showed that the rate of people donating an organ has risen to 62%. However, the rate among Black, Asian and minority groups (BAME) is only 34%.

 鈥淢y research has shown that people are more likely to engage with sensitive topics such as organ donation, if the topic is discussed in a 鈥榮afe鈥� environment with trusted peers.

鈥淭his can range from places of worship, community groups, schools, colleges, universities, rotary clubs, sports clubs, community based TV and radio media outlets and community based social media sites,鈥� said Gurch.

More information, as well as how to sign the organ donation register, can be found here: