Why is ethnic background important in donation?

Our ethnicity has an influence on the make up of our Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type and blood group. This means that patients from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a close match when it comes to finding a suitable donor.

Urgent need for donors

Our ethnic background also has an influence on the diseases that we are prone to. For example, black people are more likely to develop diabetes and high blood pressure. These diseases can cause kidney failure and patients may need a kidney transplant. As a successful match is more likely to be found from the same ethnic group there is an urgent need for more black donors, especially as donation rates are relatively low from the black community.

For successful bone marrow transplants it is essential to find donors with an exact tissue type match to the patient to avoid rejection. So it is vital that people from all different ethnic backgrounds join a bone marrow registry too. Without them, patients will continue to die waiting for a suitable match.

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James film

Fact sheet – it’s all in the mix