If you believe in organ donation, prove it

Only 29% of us have joined the NHS Organ Donor Register. Yet nearly all of us would take an organ if we needed one.

The NHS Organ Donor Register records the details of nearly 18 million people who have registered their wishes to donate organs and/or tissue after their death.

In 2010, more than 2,700 patients' lives were saved through organ donation. However, more than 10,000 people in the UK are waiting for a transplant. Of these, 1000 each year - that's three a day - will die waiting as there are not enough organs available.

Anyone can register on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Age is not a barrier to becoming and organ or tissue donor and neither are most medical conditions. One donor can save or transform up to nine lives through organ donation.

Black and south Asian communities

Black and south Asian people living in the UK are three times more likely to need an organ transplant than the general population. This is because these communities are more susceptible to illnesses such as diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease, which may result in organ failure.

Low donation rates
Donated organs need to be carefully matched to the recipient to ensure blood and tissue groups are compatible. An organ is more likely to be a close match, and as a result, a transplant is much more likely to be successful, if the donor and recipient have the same ethnic origin.

Unfortunately, while there is an urgent need for donor organs from the Black and south Asian community, around three percent of those on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) are Black or south Asian. This drastically reduces the chances of finding a successful match. It also means Black and south Asian people have to wait on average about three times as long as a white person for a kidney transplant.

Right now over 1800 Black and south Asian people in the UK are waiting for a transplant. Some of whom will die while waiting.

If more people registered, more lives could be saved.

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

To find out more information or to register to become an organ donor, please visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk/councils.

For more information about the Newham Donation Partnership or to get involved email Monica Thomas.