ORGAN donation leaders in Glasgow have warned about an ‘urgent shortage’ of donors to help black and ethnic minority patients.

Although many BME patients are able to receive a transplant from a white donor, for many the best match will come from a donor from the same ethnic background.

More than a third of those on the waiting list for a kidney transplant are from BME communities, and they wait, on average, a year longer than their white counterparts.

Megan Reid, Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation said: “More BME people are saving lives in these ways.

"But there is still an urgent need for people in the black community to help others who depend on a match with a donor from a similar ethnic background.”