Achieving equality in organ donation and transplantation in the UK - challenges and solutions

The combination of low numbers of black and minority ethnic organ donors and the higher prevalence of conditions such as diabetes and hepatitis mean that these communities are disproportionately represented on transplant lists. This results in minority ethnic patients waiting on average twice as long for some transplants as their white counterparts. The paper promotes a ‘two-pronged’ approach, tackling barriers to black and minority organ donation in the short term (such as lack of awareness or perceived religious opposition) and employing longer term preventative medical interventions which may reduce the need for organs in these communities in the future.