A new South Asian Organ Donor ad campaign to encourage more Asians to become organ donors and save lives is being launched today by the Department of Health. People of Asian origin are three times as likely than the general population to develop conditions that lead to kidney failure.

Successful transplants are greatly increased if donor and recipient are from the same ethnic group but there aren't enough Asian people on the organ donor register.

The campaign, identifies the stories of three patients who have either received transplants or are currently waiting for a transplant. The patients have all donated their time and their experiences to the campaign, in the hope that people will be able to identify with their own situations and take the issue of organ donation more seriously.

35 year old Daljit Toor, was diagnosed with kidney failure when he went for a routine medical for a new job - at the age of 23. He was put on the transplant waiting list and started dialysis - five hours a day, three days a week… which he was to continue for the next 10 years. By his reckoning Daljit has spent around five years of real time hooked up to a machine to keep him alive. After a 10 year wait, he finally received a kidney transplant, and in February 2001, Daljit emerged from the hospital to return to his wife and three children.

"I have spent most of my life waiting for a suitable donor to come forward, and after seven years, I am still waiting. As a community we need to understand issues such as organ donation that affect us directly as a community. The fact is there are more Asians on the transplant waiting list and not enough of us coming forward to donate. We need to take action.

Everyday more and more people are finding themselves in the same position as me, and if I can prevent someone going through what I and my family did, then I am happy to do so. As a community we need to act now, and make sure that we join the NHS Organ Donor Register, you could save someone's life"

The Department of Health first launched a national campaign in February 1999, to raise awareness of the importance of Organ Donation within the South Asian Community. The level of awareness within the community in relation to this sensitive subject has been very low, despite the fact that the need for organ donors is becoming ever more acute.

• More than a third of 40-65 year old Asians suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure, which often leads to kidney failure
• The death rate from kidney failure in the Asian community is three times higher than the national rate
• The proportion of Asian people on organ transplant waiting lists is growing rapidly

Health Minister David Lammy said: "currently 841 Asian people are awaiting transplants in the UK but there are not enough people of Asian origin on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Unfortunately this means that some people die whilst waiting for a transplant. Due to a high rate of diabetes and high blood pressure amongst the Asian community, we estimate that in a few years time half the people on kidney dialysis may be Asian and in need of a transplant. We all need to take action by carrying a donor card and joining the NHS Organ Donor Register."

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?

Please call the Organ Donor Line, 0845 60 60 400, or visit the NHS Organ Donor website.

Click here to read the story 'Actress Nina Wadia pleads for more Asian Organ Donors'

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