All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethnicity Transplantation and Transfusion -
The report says that the UK’s mixed heritage and ethnic minority population face a double whammy of inequity as they are more likely to need donors due to conditions which disproportionately affect them, such as sickle cell and kidney disease, but less likely to find well-matched donors on the blood, stem cell and organ donor registers. This is particularly true for patients in need of stem cell transplants for the treatment of blood cancer, where matched tissue type (most often found in donors from a similar ethnic background) is critical to successful outcomes. Key recommendations include: improved governance and accountability; improved data, reporting and transparency; and improved education, awareness and activity.