Mohammed Islam received from his brother the greatest gift anyone could have at any time – that of life.
Fiaz donated a kidney to his older brother when it proved difficult to find a kidney match due to a lack of donors from the South Asian communities – something Mohammed is now keen to highlight and encourage more people to sign up.
Across the board, whatever race or ethnicity is involved, people are desperate for organ transplants and the transplant service never has enough people on their books to cope with demand.
It is, of course, a major decision to make to decide to either pledge your organs to be used after your death or to act as a living donor, and not something that people enter into lightly.
But we can, at least, all learn more about the processes involved and the overall situation with the number of donors required compared to those on the waiting lists, to enable us to make an educated choice about whether it is something we feel we can become involved in.
Those who have received an organ transplant have been given a new lease of life, a second chance when they thought there was no longer any hope for them. It is certainly something to think about, whether it means saving the life of a loved one as in Fiaz and Mohammed’s case, or giving the chance of a new life to strangers after our deaths.
It is to be hoped that today’s inspirational story helps people come to a decision, and encourages more people from the South Asian community especially to commit to this exceptional act.
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