More people than ever before across the UK donated their organs after their deaths last year, according to the Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report 2015/16.
In West Yorkshire, 138 people received a potentially lifesaving or transforming transplant last year.
However, the report also shows that around 4 out of ten families in the UK did not agree to donate a relative’s organs. Sadly in West Yorkshire last year, 10 people died before they received the organ they desperately needed.
NHS Blood and Transplant is drawing attention to the situation in West Yorkshire in the run up to Organ Donation Week, which starts on September 5th. This year’s theme is 'Turn an end, into a beginning', emphasising how each of us could give someone the chance of a new beginning by telling our families we want to be an organ donor.
There is a particular need to encourage more black and Asian families to talk about organ donation. In 2015/16, only 5% of all deceased donors came from a Black Asian or Minority Ethnic background and families from these communities are more likely to say no to donating a relative’s organs than white families.
This is a particular concern as Black and Asian people are more susceptible to, conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and certain types of hepatitis, making them more likely to need a transplant. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic patients make up a third of the active kidney transplant waiting list.
Sally Johnson, Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant said:
“Many families in West Yorkshire tell us they take huge comfort in knowing that their relative has saved the lives of others.”
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