A new drive has been launched to overcome the extreme shortage of British Sikhs on the organ donation list of the UK.
Members of the Asian community are more likely to need a transplant but wait longer than the general population in Britain for a match.
According to official figures, only around two per cent of organ donors each year are Asian but the community makes up nearly a fifth of those needing a transplant.
The National Health Service (NHS) has kicked off a targeted campaign across the country, starting with the Sikh community, to urge them to join its Organ Donor Register.
A series of TV programmes titled "Organ Donation: Let's Make a Difference" will air from next week in collaboration with Sikh community channel Sangat TV and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust's organ donation committee.
"We believe organ donation fits with the Sikh faith and that there is a real need in this community for more donors. If more people registered. more lives could be saved and members of the community might not face waiting longer than others when they need a transplant," said John Bleasdale, clinical lead for organ donation at the NHS Trust.
The TV shows, in a mix of Punjabi and English, feature a man, Satnam Kang, who is waiting for a kidney transplant and talks about the difficulties of being on dialysis at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
with thanks : Indian Express : LINK : for detailed news.
No comments:
Post a Comment