NHS figures show huge disparity between South Asian heritage patients waiting for transplant and organ donors of the same heritage

There are currently more than 20 times more patients of South Asian heritage (1) waiting for a transplant than there were deceased organ donors of the same ethnic background last year.

As the best match is often found from a donor sharing the same ethnic background – especially kidneys, which 90.1% of South Asian heritage patients are listed for - this is likely to result in longer wait times for people of South Asian Heritage.

July is South Asian Heritage Month, and NHS Blood and Transplant is calling on people to discuss organ donation with those closest to them, and to confirm their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

NHS data shows that patients of Asian heritage (2) (including South Asian heritage) are waiting an average of 648 days for a kidney - 20% longer than the UK average of 547 days. This is due to a lack of matching organ donors.

For Asian heritage children the picture is even starker, with a 60% longer average wait of 709 days for a kidney (vs 450).

Between April 2025 and March 2026, there were just 26 deceased organ donors of South Asian heritage. There are currently 554 patients with the same ethnic background waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

Why organ matching is important

Transplanted organs are matched by the recipient's blood type, with B type blood more common across South Asia, as well as genetic tissue type, which is why the best match will likely come from a donor with similar ancestry.

A good tissue match is especially important for kidneys, and people of South Asian heritage are more likely to experience kidney failure. In March 2026, 86.4% of people waiting on the transplant list were waiting for a kidney transplant, but this number was 90.1% for patients of South Asian heritage.

However, 67% of Asian heritage families in the UK consented to organ donation last year when their loved one had already recorded that they wanted to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register, compared to 85% for all other ethnic groups. Donors of South Asian heritage made up just 1.8% of deceased organ donors last year.

On average, more than 3 people a day died or became too ill for a transplant in the UK over the past decade. The UK transplant waiting list has reached record levels with over 8,500 people still waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

There are a number of factors in why South Asian heritage patients make up a higher proportion of the population who need a kidney transplant. People of South Asian heritage are more likely to experience kidney failure due to also being more likely to develop diabetes and high blood pressure, which can worsen kidney health.

Kidneys in particular need to be a good tissue match for transplantation compared to other organs, so having fewer donors with South Asian heritage means there are less likely to be kidneys available that are a good genetic match.

Harpreet Matharu, Regional Head of Nursing at NHSBT, said:

"The number of people on organ transplant waiting lists is already at its highest ever level. However, compared to the number of South Asian heritage patients waiting for a transplant, the proportion of deceased donors of South Asian heritage is much lower.

"We already know that people of South Asian heritage are at a higher risk of developing kidney disease, but when paired with not having enough donors that are a good genetic match, we are likely to see long waiting times. We already see longer waiting times among Asian heritage populations and, unfortunately, some people waiting for a transplant will never receive one.

"It's really important that you confirm your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register so your family can be sure of your decision after your death. However, if you can also talk to your family about this, it could help to raise awareness in South Asian communities and spark further conversations.

"We know that families are much more likely to consent when they are aware of their loved one’s decision, and signing the NHS Organ Donor Register is quick and easy. It just takes 2 minutes."

Donor and recipient stories

Sunni's story

When Bevi Sandhu, 55, from Hounslow was told by doctors that her son Sunni had died, she knew straight away that organ donation would be the right thing to do.

Sunni Bansal, 34, sadly passed away earlier this year after choking while eating. He was a happy person who was loved by the staff at his care home and, although he was non-verbal due to having autism and learning disabilities, Bevi described how he showed his caring and gentle nature.

"Organ donation is something I think he would have wanted because he was so caring about other people. As he was non-verbal, he would just stroke someone's arm to show them that he cares for them," she said.

"I didn't want this to be the end. I thought the only way he can carry on living is maybe living through other people, and that would be by organ donation.

"I spoke to my family and I spoke to Sunni's dad, and everyone agreed that it was a good idea. We're Sikh, and in our community people hardly ever talk about organ donation."

Sunni had a Sikh funeral, with 2 white horses with orange feathers in their manes drawing the carriage. Bevi explained how the funeral got many people in her community talking about organ donation.

She said: "That morning we were all getting ready to go to my son's funeral and the letter came through the door. I could not open that letter and I gave it to one of my friends who had been very close to Sunni as well, and she read out the letter at the crematorium.

"The letter told us that Sunni's donation saved 3 people. His kidneys saved 2 men, and his heart saved a 30-year-old man, while his liver and both of his lungs were donated to research.

"My friend was the only one that knew what it said, and when she read it out, I just cried my eyes out. I just thought that was so meaningful."

Having the letter read out during the funeral got friends and family talking about organ donation for the first time. The sisters have since even found out about a cousin who passed away after needing a transplant. "It was only afterwards I had the conversation with my auntie, because of Sunni," Bevi said.

"It just shows how one conversation can spark another."

Bevi’s sister Charn said: "Sunni was the first grandchild in our family, and he had the most beautiful eyes. We called him Sunni Sunshine - he was such a gift to our family.

"I'm so proud of my sister for making the decision to donate his organs. It certainly changed my thinking of it, as well as my friends' and my family's - we would definitely do that too in the future."

The pair are calling on others in their community to have more conversations about organ donation to dispel myths surrounding it, such as that it could be incompatible with a Sikh funeral.

"I think some people think that it would prevent Sikh funeral rituals from taking place, but that wasn’t our experience. The funeral still happened – we still followed the rituals and the priest did his prayers, so it can still be done," Bevi said.

Mehreen's story

Mehreen Ahmed, 25, from Louth in Lincolnshire now travels nationally for work as a neurophysiologist. But just 3 years ago, she was in hospital with acute heart failure and unable to take her final year neuroscience exams to graduate.

Mehreen had been managing her genetic heart condition - dilated cardiomyopathy - with medication, but suddenly became so breathless that she couldn’t leave her bed. She also experienced vomiting and fluid retention and was hospitalised. Mehreen was told her only option for survival would be to wait for a heart transplant.

She said: "I hadn't even heard of the term organ donation before I was listed for my transplant, which just shows that in our communities, it's just not spoken about until you or someone in your family needs a transplant.

"I come from a Pakistani background and I’d like more people within our communities to just start that conversation around organ donation. It's hard to talk about, especially if no-one in your immediate circle has needed an organ transplant to survive.

"I just want more people in our communities to know just how much someone's life can change when you say yes. I hope my story can show that.

"It's literally just a conversation."

She explained that she felt the lifesaving difference a transplant makes is not always visible within her community, which is why she set up an Instagram account, heart.to.heart.23, to raise awareness of organ donation.

Mehreen said: "A lot of family and friends didn’t know how ill I was in hospital, because it isn’t something that we would typically make public or even tell anyone about. It's very much a cultural thing – not sharing bad news within the community.

"They just saw a normal girl before transplant, and a normal girl after transplant – they didn't see the deterioration part.

"I think a lot of people in my community might not be aware that a transplant is literally life-saving – you're actually in end-stage organ failure and you would die without a transplant, but that transplant couldn’t happen without people talking about organ donation in the first place."

Mehreen knows this first-hand, as she recently met her donor’s family which she described as incredibly emotional. She learned that before they died, her donor had had a conversation with a loved one about wanting to be an organ donor, which influenced their family's final decision.

Following her transplant, Mehreen has been able to graduate from university, run a half marathon and climb Mount Snowdon. She has also become an aunt to her nephew who was born a year later, which she describes as "the biggest blessing" post-transplant.

She also wants to raise awareness of the positives of organ donation within the Muslim community, so people have the option to make a difference and help save lives.

She said: "As a Muslim, charity has always been a huge aspect of my religion – whether that's money, food, or just an act of kindness. I feel like organ donation is a form of charity in itself. By giving someone your heart, lungs, liver or kidneys after your death, not only are they able to live a healthier life without organ failure – they're able to live, full stop. And you helped them live, by talking about your wishes.

“It's important people in our communities start having more open conversations around organ donation. I think this starts with appreciating just how charitable an act it is to be an organ donor and what a massive difference you can make to someone's life – up to 9 lives.

"You just have to speak to more organ recipients like me to understand how uncertain life on the waiting list can be, and just how much organ donation can transform lives."

How you can help

Find out more, and to register an organ and tissue donation decision on our website, by calling 0300 123 23 or through the NHS app.

Press release notes

South Asian heritage in this press release refers to people who have recorded their ethnicity to NHSBT as being 'Asian/Asian British – Indian', ‘Asian/Asian British – Pakistani' or 'Asian/Asian British – Bangladeshi'. Although this does not incorporate other South Asian countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives, these groups are not possible to include as they would be recorded under 'Asian/Asian British – Any other Asian Background' due to their small numbers or 'Asian/Asian British – Unknown'.
Asian heritage in this press release refers to people who have recorded their ethnicity to NHSBT as being 'Asian/Asian British – Indian', 'Asian/Asian British – Pakistani', 'Asian/Asian British – Bangladeshi', 'Asian/Asian British – Chinese', 'Asian/Asian British – Any other Asian Background' or 'Asian/Asian British – Unknown'. Where this category is referenced in the press release above, NHSBT does not collect more specific ethnicity data.