The impending kidney transplant crisis for the Asian population in the UK

Kidney transplantation offers the opportunity of an improved quality of life for those patients suffering from renal failure. Unfortunately, this treatment is not available to all people as this is influenced by the increasing demand for a limited supply of suitable organs. This situation is particularly alarming for the UK's Asian population with their higher susceptibility to end-stage renal failure which has resulted in a greater demand for transplants. Consequently, the proportion of Asians on transplant waiting lists is growing rapidly. Coupled with this are problems of cross-racial tissue type matching which has led to longer waiting times for a transplant. The situation is clear, there is an urgent need to address the number of Asians requiring a kidney transplant otherwise the human and economic costs will be very severe. In the short term there needs to be a greater number of donors coming forward from the Asian communities to increase the pool of suitable organs. In the long term, there needs to be greater attention on preventive strategies to reduce the number of Asians requiring renal replacement therapy.