A group of organ donors will gather in Brixton’s Windrush Square on Saturday (23 September) as part of the grand finale to Organ Donation Week.
Their aim is to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation and to boost organ donation rates in the UK’s Black community.
Gift of Living Donation (GOLD) in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant, have organised the event which, they say, will see a 40-string flashmob dance the ever-popular Candy.
Among the dancers will be kidney donors who have given the gift of life to a relative, friend and even a stranger, living donor recipients, friends, and family, all in hot pink organ donation t-shirts.
Latest figures (January 2023) from NHS Blood and Transplant highlight the urgent need for more organ donors of Black and Asian heritage.
Patients from these communities often wait longer for life-saving transplants, compared to their white counterparts.
Last year, patients of Black heritage represented 2% of deceased donors, but made up 9% of deceased donor transplants and 10% of the waiting list.
The team at GOLD and those taking part in the flash mob dance, hope that their efforts will inspire more people from the Black African Caribbean community to come forward either as a living kidney donor or to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Vera Lucia Duarte Soares will be one of the dancers taking part. She donated a kidney to Lloyd, someone she met via her sister.
“I met Lloyd for the first time at my sister’s wedding, he was my brother in law’s best friend.
“Lloyd had kidney failure and needed a transplant, both my sister and brother-in-law came forward to be tested as living donors, but were not compatible, when I heard I thought why not go and get tested, everyone thought I was crazy, after all he was not family, he was not even a friend!
“Once I found out I was compatible nothing could stop my decision; I was willing to help somebody to live better and to have back his hope. We are both doing amazingly well, and I’m proud of what I did.”
Philip Ryan will be another dancer. He made a kidney donation to his wife, Denise.
“In 1993 my wife Denise was diagnosed with lupus after giving birth to our son and soon developed kidney failure and spent years before she had a deceased donor transplant,” said Philip.
“Unfortunately, our happiness was short-lived when a virus attacked Denise’s donated kidney. Sadly, she was back on dialysis.
“Denise and I had discussed living donation, I donated one of my kidneys through the three-way kidney swap scheme.
“We were the first to take part in this pioneering operation in the UK on July 25, 2018, and it was a success.
“Knowing my wife has a better quality of life brings me, our son, family, and friends so much joy and happiness.”
At the heart of the flashmob event is Dela Idowu, the founder of GOLD. Her personal experience of coming forward as a living donor for her brother drove her to set up GOLD to organise community events to raise awareness of living kidney donation in the Black African Caribbean community.
“Organ Donation Week is always a fantastic time to raise public awareness of organ donation and to celebrate the incredible people who have donated an organ and given someone the amazing gift of life. We hope the event will inform, inspire, and influence people to consider organ donation.”
The Organ Donation Week #FlashMOB event will be in Windrush Square from 1 to 3pm, hosted by Geraldine Parker, national partnerships manager at NHS Blood and Transplant and Dela Idowu.
Danny Sebastian, presenter on the popular BBC TV show Bargain Hunt, said: “Raising awareness of donation is so important, it simply saves lives.
“As someone from the Black community, needing more organ donors hits home harder, so I am really pleased to support such an important awareness event”.
Kickstarting the flashmob Candy dance will be transplant consultant, Danny Sebastian, BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Ace, and the Black Living Donor Choir.
Geraldine Parker-Smith of NHS Blood and Transplant stressed the importance of celebrating and raising awareness of living donation.
“We hope this event encourages even more people to confirm their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register and perhaps even consider living donation, to help us save even more lives,” she said.
By registering as a donor, you could contribute to the goal of reaching 25,000 new donors during this year’s Organ Donation Week.
For more information about organ donation, or to register your organ donation decision, visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.
