ISSUES that contribute to lower participation rates in organ donation among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities must be confronted and not 'pussyfooted' around, says a transplant expert.

Dr Adnan Sharif, a transplant clinician at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a leading transplant centre, has spoken out ahead of the Westfield Health British Transplant Games - of which the South Wales Argus is official media partner - which take place in Newport next month.

“Consent rates among BAME communities are half the average rates in the UK," said Dr Sharif, whose family lived in Newport before moving to Cardiff, where he was born.

“Religious and cultural obstacles play their part, as does language. But it is my belief they are unfortunately also used as excuses.

"I don’t think we should pussyfoot around the issues, and I believe we need to be more explicit about what’s happening.

“If you are happy to receive organs, you must be willing to give. It’s as simple as that. Anything else is entirely hypocritical.

"I don’t buy the thinking that this is down to a lack of education. Attitudes need to change."

Currently, 65 per cent of families in the UK agree to donate a loved one’s organs - but the consent rate among BAME communities is just 30 per cent. Consequently, BAME patients often wait longer to receive vital organ transplants.

According to Dr Sharif, a BAME child will often have to wait 16-21 months, at least twice as long as the average (around eight months).

“Longer waiting lists are often blamed on the NHS or institutional racism. But I have to break the news to these families that this is down to attitudes in BAME communities," said Dr Sharif, who is also secretary of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, an international organisation set up to fight unethical organ transplants across the globe, and which was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.

“Organs are much more likely to match if donor and recipient share the same ethnic group. When it comes to stem cells and bone marrow, the match needs to be very specific.”

He said the issue is compounded because people from black and ethnic minorities are more likely to have diseases that lead to organ failure, with Type 2 diabetes - which can cause chronic kidney disease - six times more likely in people of south Asian descent and three times more likely in people of African and African-Caribbean descent.

Dr Sharif said he faces the issue on a daily basis. He works in Birmingham, an area with a high BAME population - and while Wales operates an opt-out system, meaning that unless the deceased has explicitly opted out of the donor register, their consent to organ donation is assumed, the decision is still made by families.

Organisers of the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, which take place from July 25-28, are urging people to have a donation conversation with their loved ones.

“Families face decisions about organ donation at the very worst of times. If they are aware of the wishes of their loved one, it makes that decision much easier in what is a very difficult time," said Ann Lloyd, who chairs Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the Westfield Health British Transplant Games organising committee.

"The Westfield Health British Transplant Games is hoping to shine a light on organ donation and the importance of families knowing the wishes of their loved ones.”