Funding secured for organ donation campaign

Bedfordshire University said the organ donation campaign would be led by students

A university has secured funding for a community organ donation campaign to start conversations in minority ethnic communities.

The University of Bedfordshire said the campaign, led by students, would draw on past research.

NHS Blood and Transplant has given the university £15,500 over two years.

Prof Gurch Randhawa said conversations were needed to tackle the lower rates of organ donation among minority ethnic communities.

The university said students, transplant recipients and donors from different ethnic and faith communities would be part of the campaign.

The university is joining forces with Luton Council, Hospital Art Studio and the Mandip Mudhar Memorial Foundation to mark Organ Donation Week which runs from Monday to Sunday.

Research at the university previously found that tailored messaging and trusted messengers were "essential to champion organ donation conversations".

Prof Randhawa, director of the Institute for Health Research, said: “It’s a privilege to be implementing our research, connecting organ donor families, communities, religions and tackling the global problem of not enough organ donors from all communities.

"We need to increase organ donation conversations via university student community ambassadors and using art to promote dialogue, specifically to tackle the lower rates of organ donation among minority ethnic communities.”

Alongside this project, the university will be work with Hospital Art Studio to create the UK’s first community-led artwork, which will be based in Luton, dedicated to celebrating organ donation.