'Being a Donor' Project |
<<Back |
What is the Being a Donor Project?
The Being a Donor Project focuses on donating blood, bone marrow, tissue and organs within the black and minority ethnic (BME) communities – particularly in the South Asian, African Caribbean and Chinese communities.
The Project actively involves and employs the skills of BME community members to examine both the incentives and barriers involved in registering as a donor. PRIAE offer skills training to these community members to develop a grassroots awareness raising campaign targeting BME donors in particular.
The Being a Donor Project is a three-year project (2007 – 2010) that is funded by the Department of Health. For aims and objectives of the project go to link
Why is Being a Donor Important?
Donating organs in the event of death and donating bone marrow or stem cells can mean the difference of life and death to a patient. A transplant is much more likely to be successful if the donor is from the same ethnic group. The numbers of registered donors from ethnic minorities however is extremely low, e.g. the need for organs in the Asian community is 3 times higher than that of the general population.
Moreover, ethnicity is related to certain health conditions often resulting in an added need for donors, e.g. the black population is 3 times as likely to develop kidney failure. BME community leaders may not be familiar with issues regarding registering as a donor - but as highly respected members of the community and family - they will act as excellent motivators.
Previous campaigns in this area have been largely unsuccessful judging by the consistently low numbers of BME individuals registered as donors.
PRIAE’s Being a Donor Project investigates why these campaigns did not have the desired impact of increasing numbers significantly.
The Project also sees the subject of organ donation as hand in hand with the issue of donating blood and actively promote becoming a blood donor to BME communities.
How does the Project engage with BME communities?
In its first year, the Project has held a number of community events in London, Leeds and Manchester to raise awareness in the communities about being a donor.
The events include speakers from our partner agencies and an opportunity for the audience to ask speakers direct questions about being a blood, bone marrow, tissue or organ donor. The speakers present the facts about being a blood, bone marrow, tissue and organ donor. Speakers also include donors, recipients, donor family members and people waiting for transplantation from the particular community. This ensures that the audience meet those who have had a ‘personal’ and ‘real’ experience of being, receiving or requiring a donor.
After a culturally sensitive lunch, discussions are held to learn about the barriers and attitudes about donating blood, bone marrow, tissue or organs within the particular community as well as find out what sort of messages and activities would increase the number of people from the community signing up to being a donor.
The events have been very well received by the communities and evaluated (very) positively. Overall feedback has been that they have given people an opportunity to talk about a taboo subject and people have learned ‘what is means to be a blood, bone marrow, tissue and organ donor’
Comments included;
“The programme was well put together, interesting and well delivered”
“The content of the presentations helped to dispel a lot of fears and myths,
particularly about giving blood”
“Real life experiences very moving and gave the event a human feel”
“The venue because it is in the community”
“Attendees able to make contact with key organisations”
“This is a great programme to raise awareness in the Asian/Black communities”
However, these events are only an initial introduction to being a donor. The events also provide an opportunity for PRIAE to recruit members of the community who would like to get more involved in the Project and being a Donor Champion. For further information on being a Donor Champion and the training, go to ‘What is a Donor Champion’
For further information on attitudes and barriers to being a donor for BME communities, go to link
For further information on key messages to include in promoting being a donor campaigns, go to link
Who is involved in the Being a Donor Project?
PRIAE has established a national Multi-agency Being a Donor Group, which meets on a three monthly basis and comprises the following agencies:
- UK NHS Transplant (and Blood)
- National Blood Service
- Transplants in Mind
- Anthony Nolan Trust
- Transplant Support Network
- UK Transplant Co-ordinators Network
- African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust
- METRAN
- Transplant Sport UK
- UK Diabetes
- Sickle Cell Society
- GIFT (a Children’s Transplant Charity)
The aim of the Group is to enhance the number of blood, bone marrow, organ and tissue donors in the UK, which will reflect the diversity of the UK population.
The Group is actively involved in creating the 3-day training for Donor Champions. For more information on the Donor Champions Training Programme, go to link page
PRIAE has also community-based partners - 9 key links that are well-established organisations in London, Leeds and Manchester within the Chinese, South Asian and African Caribbean communities. These partners are the local focus points for delivering the initial ‘Being a Donor’ events and Donor Champions training.
How does the Being a Donor Project link to National Policy?
PRIAE is a member of the Cultural Expert Working Group, which is a subgroup of the Department of Health Organ Donation Taskforce.
This provides the opportunity for PRIAE to keep up to date with the latest research and developments in the field of organ donation as well as work alongside other key persons to inform policy development in organ donation, particularly within the BME communities.
For more information on the Department of Health Organ Donation Taskforce and the Working Group, go to
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Secondarycare/ Transplantation/Organdonation/index.htm
What is a Donor Champion?
Donor Champions are mentioned in Department of Health Organ Donation Taskforce Supplement Report (Recommendation 13).It is envisaged that – in the long term - Donor Champions will become part of a multi-disciplinary Donor Team in local hospitals.
Last year, PRIAE carried out a brief appraisal of previous campaigns in the UK and abroad as well as a literature review on best practice. PRIAE realised that there is a real need for a community education campaign to enable motivated community members to:
- learn the facts about being a donor
- receive appropriate training to be able to pass facts (not myths) into their communities and networks
- signpost them (and others) to the appropriate donor agency for further advise and information
In 2008, PRIAE with its partners, are creating a focused, appropriate campaign which – we hope - results in a significant rise in the numbers of ethnic minority donor registrations.
The three-day training programme includes:
- an opportunity to see the process of being a blood and/or bone marrow donor (e.g. from taking the blood/bone marrow being taken through to it being tested and to being stored)
- meeting and discussing about ‘being a donor’ with the various religious leaders and health professionals
- having an opportunity to talk about death and dying as well as learn ‘how to approach’ the subject within the family
Once completing the 3-day training, the Donor Champions will:
- be able to speak with better knowledge and understanding in order to explain being a blood, tissue, bone marrow and organ donor in their communities
- understand the professional boundaries between the different agencies that are involved in being a blood, bone marrow, tissue and organ donation
- know who to contact in their local area as regards being a blood, bone marrow, tissue and organ donor
- receive the ‘Being a Donor Community Event Programme Pack’ to enable them to hold community events
- support the Radiodonation Project
- be linked to donor agencies that have a volunteering programme such as Anthony Nolan Trust and UK Diabetes
There has already been significant interest from the South Asian, African, African Caribbean and Chinese communities to be involved in and being
‘Donor Champions’ in their respective communities. As of May 2008, out of the 136 persons who have attended the community events – 38 people have put their names down to attend the Donor Champion training.
For more information on the training programme to be a Donor Champion, go to link page
Where do I go for further information?
If you would like to receive more information about the Organ Donation Project, or become involved in the Project, please contact:
|
