Public urged to join organ donor register

MINISTERS are urging people to make joining the organ donor register their new year’s resolution for 2016, to help give others “a second chance at life”.

A special plea was made for Scots from black, Asian or minority ethnic communities to join the register as well as raising awareness among their friends and family.

Statistics show around 25 per cent of people on the UK transplant waiting list are from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, yet only 5 per cent of donors are from these communities.

A transplant is much more likely to be successful if the donor and recipient have the same ethnic origin.

The shortage of suitable organs means people from minority ethnic communities wait, on average, twice as long as the general population for organ transplants.

Muhammad Azam, 43, waited two months on the organ donor register before his life-saving liver transplant in December 2014.

The father-of-two, from Edinburgh, was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2006 and in 2012 he was told his chance of survival relied on a liver transplant.

Since his transplant, Mr Azam has been able to return to work and his life has been completely transformed.

He said: “After the operation I just felt instantly better than I had in months. Since then my recovery has been fantastic.”

Public Health Minister Maureen Watt said: “It is a reality that we need more donors from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities if we are to be able to help people like Muhammad get a new lease of life.”

For more information, visit organdonation.nhs.uk