Gurch Randhawa

‘Opting-in or opting-out?’—The views of the UK's faith leaders in relation to organ donation

INTRODUCTION This article reports the findings from the interviews with the main United Kingdom faith and belief leaders which were commissioned by the Organ Donation Taskforce as part of its evidence gathering when exploring the potential impact of an opt-out system for organ donation. METHODOLOGY 17 interviews were arranged with the main faith and belief organisations within the United Kingdom. Interviews covered a range of issues related to organ donation and opt-in and opt-out. RESULTS The majority of faith and belief leaders are supportive of the opt-in system, and favour retaining it over the introduction of an opt-out system. Whilst the shortcomings of the current system are recognised, the majority felt that there is scope to make improvements without changing legislation. CONCLUSION In order to achieve better engagement on organ donation with members of faith and belief groups in the future, it will be important to continue the dialogue that has begun with these interviews. It is important not only for the public to be aware of the position of faith and belief leaders, but also just as important for the medical profession and policy makers to recognise that all United Kingdom faith and belief leaders interviewed wish organ donation and transplantation to be a success.

Religion and organ donation: the views of UK faith leaders.

This article reports the findings from the one-to-one interviews with the main UK faith and belief leaders which were commissioned by the Organ Donation Taskforce as part of its evidence gathering. Interviews were arranged with the main faith and belief organisations within the UK. Interviews covered a range of issues related to organ donation. Although some faith groups had some reservations regarding organ donation, interviews with these leaders demonstrated that none of these faith groups have reached a consensus against organ donation. The interviewees stated that the majority opinion in their faith or belief group is to permit organ donation, with some actively supporting it. Interviewees were keen to stress that there is a broad spectrum of opinion on organ transplantation within each faith and belief group and that consequently it is difficult to speak on behalf of an entire group. One complication mentioned by interviewees is that as organ transplantation is a relatively new medical procedure, there is no explicit reference to it in many original religious texts. Consequently, positions on the receipt and donation of organs are based on interpretation. It was felt that a much greater level of engagement is needed, as organ donation is currently not a priority for many faith and belief groups.

Renal health disparities in the United Kingdom: a focus on ethnicity

The increased rate of type 2 diabetes among minority ethnic groups compared with Caucasians in the United Kingdom has been well documented. Diabetes complications, such as end-stage renal failure, are much more prevalent among the South Asian and African-Caribbean population in the United Kingdom. Inequalities do currently exist in diabetes and renal services and the solutions to rectifying this situation are complex, focusing both on disease prevention and disease management. However, the financial and human burden of not addressing these inequalities encourage some immediate action.

Breaking down barriers to accessing mental health support services - a qualitative study among young South Asian and African-Caribbean communities in Luton

Recent research has suggested that there is limited information about mental health help‐seeking among young African—Caribbean and South Asian communities. This study explores the mental health support needs and perceptions of the Samaritans among young African—Caribbean and South Asian people living in Luton. Five single‐sex focus groups were conducted among the three main South Asian groups and African—Caribbeans in Luton. This paper describes the challenges faced by service providers and potential users from minority ethnic groups in respectively providing and accessing mental health services. Finally, the paper makes some recommendations for developing culturally competent and more visible service provision.