Despite ongoing efforts by BIMA, there remains a
substantial disparity in the rates of people opting in for
organ donation between the white and BAME
communities. The “Annual Report on Ethnicity
Differences in Organ Donation and Transplantation
2022/2023” highlights that Opt-in registrations from
ethnic minorities rose to 11.7% from 7.8% in 2019-2020
yet the numbers are still quite low compared to the
population in UK. [1],[2], [3].
The British Islamic Medical Association has been
working relentlessly throughout and has organized a
series of nationwide community meetings and campaigns
with the collaboration of Northumbria University and
Northeast North Cumbria Renal network, other
healthcare professionals, religious scholars, faith leaders,
and transplant patients to raise awareness about the
significance of organ donation from a Muslim
perspective. Events have been organized at 17 different
public forums since last year; including educational and
religious platforms, where the process of organ donation
was elaborated, attendees were informed about recent
changes in organ donation laws and the common
misconceptions were addressed. Patients who had
received organ transplants shared their challenging
experiences of being on long waiting lists. Additionally,
pre- and post-event questionnaires were conducted to
gather feedback.
Training sessions for Muslim scholars, distribution of
informative leaflets and posters in public places like GP
surgeries, grocery stores, and restaurants, and even a hike
to further promote awareness were part of the campaign.
Moreover, social media has also been an effective
platform for raising awareness about organ donation through initiatives like Ramadan campaign, National
Organ Donation Week campaign, and the release of an
Organ donation film, which gained over 4000 viewers.
Despite progress, ethnic minorities remain
underrepresented due to lower family consent rates and
longer waiting times. It is evident from the consensus
that there is significant room for improvement in the
attitudes of minority ethnic groups towards organ
donation. Hence, with sustained efforts, this gap can be
bridged gradually.
References
- https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statisticsreport-on-ethnicity-differences/
- https://www.jbima.com/article/letsdonation-from-a-uk-muslim-perspective
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9542453/
