UK DJ wants to save lives

Radio DJ tackles stigma - 12th September 2022

Diagnosed with renal failure in 2018, DJ Ace waited three years before receiving a kidney from a donor.

Doctors previously told the BBC DJ that sourcing a match of his age and ethnic background could result in a 3 to 6 year wait time, whilst that of white patients was just over a year.

Although only 13 percent of the UK's population are people of colour, around 30 percent of those awaiting transplant are of a minority ethnic background partially due to stigma and lack of information surrounding live organ transplants.

Vital organs, such as the heart are only able to be donated for transplants post-mortem, but kidneys can be donated without lethal harm to a donor. Having learnt of live transplants, Ace's donor, Naomi Thomas, who had previously registered as an organ donor after death, decided to contact the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) to aid those in need.

When it comes to organ donation, ethnicity matters, as a patient’s body is more likely to accept an organ from a donor of similar blood and tissue types. In the UK, people of Black and Asian ethnicities are more susceptible to developing certain health conditions, namely high blood pressure and diabetes, which increases the possibility of their need for transplants.

Ace recounted to the BBC, that when he was 17, his mother advised him against registering as an organ donor. “I just took that as gospel. My mum said we don't do it. So, we don't do it. I never even questioned why. I don't think it's something that the black community do."

Now, Ace wants to use his platform as a celebrity to encourage members of his community to reverse their prejudices against organ donation.

“Is it cultural? Is it religious? Is it just a lack of trust?” Ace questioned, “Now is the time for us to have these conversations.”