UK DJ wants to save lives

DJ promotes kidney donation - 12th September 2022

In 2018 DJ Ace suffered from renal failure, he waited three years before a donor was found and he could get a transplant.

The BBC DJ had been told by doctors that finding a match with his age and ethnicity could take 3 to 6 years. Meanwhile, white patients had a wait time of just over a year. About 30 percent of patients waiting for a transplant come from minority ethnic groups, but only 13 percent of the UK's population are people of colour. This trend is partly a result of the lack of education and the stigma attached to live organ transplants.

Some vital organs such as the heart can only be donated after death. However, kidneys can be donated without mortal danger to the donor. Ace's donor, Naomi Thomas, had already registered as an organ donor, but after hearing about live transplants, she contacted the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) so she could help others now.

Ethnicity is key to successful organ donation. An organ has a better chance of being accepted by the body if it's from a donor with the same blood and tissue type. In the UK, those from Black and Asian communities are more at risk of certain health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, this in turn makes these same people more likely to need a transplant.

Ace told the BBC, at 17 years old, he was cautioned by his mother not to register as an organ donor. He said, "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 feels strongly about using his fame and popularity to persuade others in his community to break away from their prejudices against organ donation.

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