In May 2020 the law around organ donation in England changed meaning all adults in England are now considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die, unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups.

Krupesh Hirani, a member of the London Assembly Health Committee, is hosting an event at City Hall along with the charities National Kidney Federation (NKF), the National Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Transplant Alliance (NBTA), and the Jain and Hindu Organ Donation Alliance (JHOD) to mark the third anniversary of the organ donation law change in England on Friday 19^th May 2023, 09:30 – 12:55 with an Organ Donation Summit event. Taking place at the new City Hall, London, the event will be making its first debut as a face-to-face event.

The event will mark the anniversary of when the law changed in England with a panel of guest speakers and will include the latest statistics on organ donation and transplantation, as well as how community action to address inequalities can still be progressed. The Organ Utilisation Report will also be discussed which highlights the views of members and observers of the Organ Utilisation Group Organ and what they think are key barriers, successes and the priorities of organ transplantation and the utilisation of organs from deceased and living donors.

Orin Lewis, Co-Founder & Chief Executive of ACLT and Chair of NBTA (National Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance) commented; “The NBTA acknowledges the third anniversary of the pivotal Organ law change in England, and the potential increase in life saving donations to those individuals needing the gift of life. However, we also appreciate that there is still much more awareness work that needs to be undertaken by community and stakeholder organisations to positively change cultural/religious attitudes and behaviour to increase more chances of well-matched utilisation that leads to donations. Therefore, this summit enables a timely opportunity to review and evaluate the present day statistics and organ provisions with a view to debating the lessons learned over the last three years.”

Kirit Modi, MBE, Chair of JHOD said; “The third anniversary of the change in law to opt out in England provides a timely opportunity to consider the impact of the change on organ donation. The pandemic has had a significant effect on organ donation, and we face a huge challenge in meeting the aspirations of the change in law. This Summit will highlight how ethnic minority community groups, local authorities and staff working in the NHS can work in partnership to address these challenges.”

Andrea Brown, Chief Executive of National Kidney Federation said; “We very much look forward to the Organ Donation Summit event. This is an important milestone, the third anniversary where the law around organ donation in England has changed for the better. Saving more lives than ever before. The National Kidney Federation are pleased to support the event and look forward to pushing for further improvements.”

Krupesh Hirani, a member of the London Assembly Health Committee added; “I’m delighted to be hosting this Organ Donation Summit at City Hall. The change of law in England was a welcome step forward but more can be done to improve outcomes for transplant patients, particularly those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. This event is a great opportunity to bring together key stakeholders to reflect on the past three years and explore how we can tackle issues going forward.”

To re-visit last year’s Organ Donation Summit event which took place online, please visit: https://www.kidney.org.uk/twoyearswebinar