UK minority ethnic transplant patients face double inequity, MPs say

Committee criticises NHS inaction as minority ethnic patients less likely to find right blood or organ match

NHS “inaction” for more than a decade is causing unnecessary deaths of black, Asian and minority ethnic transplant patients, a report by MPs has concluded.

An inquiry into organ donation in the UK found that minority ethnic and mixed heritage people faced a “double whammy of inequity”: they are more likely to need donors, because they are disproportionately affected by conditions such as sickle cell and kidney disease, and they are less likely to find the right blood, stem cell or organ match on donor registers.