Page 37 - More than a match

Religious and Cultural Beliefs on Organ Donation

knew his family would fiercely oppose it. Healing for many of my
Christian friends was a hot topic. Many would not even consider

telling others they were facing a life-threatening illness; they
believed their faith would heal them, as this was a fundamental
part of their Christian values. There were friends who mentioned
organ donation was a taboo in their culture. These cultural beliefs
had been passed down through the generations and were now an
integral part of their mindset. But many of them had not taken the
time to find out the basis for these beliefs or question if they were
still relevant in the 21st century. In summing up my research, I am
not dismissing the strong beliefs and opinions Black and Asian

people have towards donating, but I do feel we radically need to
change our mindset and look beyond these beliefs so that we can
give our loved ones the quality of life they rightly deserve. The
UK is seeing a rapid rise in the number of overweight and obese
people, those that have unhealthy diets and do little or no physical
exercise; as a result, we will see an increase in the number of young
people with diabetics, high blood pressure and illnesses that lead to

kidney failure. We need to send out a positive message about organ
donation especially as the up and coming generation will be the
living donors of the future. Black radio and TV channels are doing
a tremendous job in promoting organ donation, but black majority
churches also need to take a more proactive role in talking about
such a sensitive issue, as this platform can tackle some of the issues
black Christians have towards donating.

27
27

More than a match book V9.indd 27 15/6/13 6:36:37 pm