Grassroots groups in Greater Manchester are set to receive a share of £600,000 in government funding. The money is to be used to deliver projects that encourage more people of Black and Asian heritage to become blood and organ donors. The funding is part of the government's commitment to tackle health inequalities and promote blood and organ donation among Black and Asian communities.
The Community Grants Programme, led by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), is dedicated to funding projects led by community, faith, or belief organisations to inspire greater awareness and support for donation. More donors are needed because of a shortage of donors from Black and Asian backgrounds, and this means patients of these ethnicities can have worse outcomes. Donors and recipients from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a match.
NHSBT can only provide the best-matched blood for people with sickle cell around half the time. Sickle cell is the "fastest-growing genetic condition in the UK". It is more prevalent in people from Black African or Black Caribbean backgrounds.
The NHS needs a record 250 blood donations a day to treat people with sickle cell. People from Black, Asian, Mixed or Other minority ethnic backgrounds make up one-third of all people on the transplant waiting list, due to the difficulties finding a match and are likely to wait longer as a result. One of the many organisations receiving funding is the Greater Manchester-based South Asian Heritage Trust (SAHT).
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