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. 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.
Unfortunately, while the need for donor organs is three to four times higher than among the general population, donation rates are relatively low among African and African-Caribbean communities, thus reducing the chance of a successful match being found. 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. If more black people are to receive successful transplants we need more black people to become organ donors.
Our latest black organ donation campaign, Can we count on you? was launched in March 2007 to raise awareness of the need for more black donors. Find out more about the campaign online or download the leaflet as a PDF document.
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.