As we launch the African Caribbean Kidney Education Enterprise™ (ACKEE) on World Kidney Day, 14 March 2024, there are 5808 people active on the kidney transplant list, including myself. It is estimated that around 7.2 million people in the UK have chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-5, making it the 10th biggest killer worldwide.
As CKD progresses, kidneys can fail (known as end-stage renal disease), losing their ability to function properly. This results in the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant (from a living or deceased donor) to survive. Neither is a permanent cure, they are only temporary treatments to help sustain life.
I completely understand and appreciate that being a living kidney donor for someone in need of a kidney is a major life-changing decision, one not to be taken lightly. However, if done, it can give the gift of life that I, and so many others, desperately require. However, there is a strong need for Black African Caribbean people to donate their organs in the event of their death.
Let me explain why.
Donated organs can be used to save or transform the life of someone urgently in need. The best match for organ donation typically comes from someone of the same ethnicity due to the need for similarities in blood and tissue.
The NHS Blood and Transplant Annual Report on Ethnicity Differences in Organ Donation and Transplantation 2022/2023 shows that Black people represented 2% of deceased kidney donors, 12% of deceased kidney donor transplants, and 13% of the kidney transplant waiting list.
The report also shows that Black patients wait on average 649 days for a kidney, highlighting the urgent need for more Black people to donate to reduce the waiting time. Black patients have to wait significantly longer for a successful match than white patients due to a shortage of suitably matched donors. If more Black people donated their organs after death, transplant waiting times would reduce.
Unfortunately, nobody lives forever, and we cannot take our organs with us when we die. What we can do is leave a rich legacy and help another person live a little longer, as our organs can be used to save or transform the life of someone urgently in need.
How can you help?
Consider becoming a deceased kidney donor
Share your decision with your family
Share this blog and the work of the African Caribbean Kidney Education Enterprise™ (ACKEE) to help inform and educate others. Also find us on social media @wearetheackee
Do you have ideas on how we can promote deceased kidney donation within the Black African Caribbean community? We welcome collaboration and partnership suggestions. Reach out to us via our contact page if you believe we can work together.
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