大象传媒

There鈥檚 a lack of organ donors from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK and it's having an impact on people from ethnic minorities on the transplant waiting list.

This means that if you鈥檙e from any ethnicity in the UK other than a white minority, you鈥檙e likely to spend longer on the waiting list and have a higher chance of dying before receiving a transplant.

This is a phenomenon all too apparent to comedian Emmanuel Sonubi, who suffered life threatening heart failure in 2019, was subsequently diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, and was told by doctors that the need for a life-saving transplant could loom large in his future.

But when each nation of the UK now has laws that deem deceased adults as consenting to having their organs donated, why does demand continue to outstrip supply? Among the myriad of reasons, many experts believe a lack of representation and mistrust in health care professionals might be just two, along with families of the deceased refusing donation on cultural or religious grounds.

In Dying For A Transplant, Emmanuel sits down with comedian and former Eastenders and Goodness Gracious Me star Nina Wadia, whose mother waited years for a successful kidney transplant, and asks why she feels so strongly about being part of the NHS Heart to Heart campaign, which asks people from ethnic minority backgrounds to be vocal in their approval of donation in the event of their death.

Dr. Dela Idowu tells us what inspired her to start the Black Living Donor Choir and about some of the stigmas and myths that permeate in her community.

Behind all the stats, facts and figures there are real people and one of them is Sophia Iman Ali, a young woman whose father, Amjid Ali, spent decades on dialysis until he received an organ from a relative. In an attempt to stop the ambiguity around organ donation in Islam, Amjid was instrumental in having a fatwa issued in 2019 that made it permissible.

After decades of this persistent shortage, will we ever be able to turn things around to offer full transplant equality?

Presented by Emmanuel Sonubi

Produced by Kurt Brookes

A Made In Manchester production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.

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