Organ Donation

Other campaigns

Black organ donation campaign

Black people living in the UK are much more likely to need a kidney transplant than the general population. This is because they are more likely to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, both of which are major causes of kidney failure.

Low donation rates

Unfortunately, while the need for donor organs is three to four times higher than among the general population, donation rates are relatively low among black people. This reduces the chances of finding a successful match.

Donated organs need to be carefully matched to the recipient to ensure blood and tissue groups are compatible. Organs are matched by blood group and tissue type (for kidney transplantation) and patients from the same ethnic group are more likely to be a close match. However there is an acute shortage of donors from black communities.

This means black people have to wait on average about twice as long as a white person for a kidney transplant. Right now over 760 black people in the UK are waiting for a transplant. Some of them will die while waiting.

But less than 1% of people on the NHS Organ Donor Register are from the black community.

If more people registered, more lives could be saved.

If you believe in organ donation, prove it. Register now.

Our solution

Our latest black organ donation campaign was launched in February 2010 to raise awareness of the need for more black donors. The campaign will consist of a tour of vibrant street plays, faith roadshows, community forums backed up by our celebrity supporters and the real life stories of Black people talking about what life is really like when you are waiting for a transplant. You can download the leaflet as a PDF document.

How you can help our black organ donation campaign

We've produced a series of leaflets and posters which are available for you to order to help you run your own campaign. All the material has been specially designed to get across the message about the need for more black organ donors. These are available to download from this website.