The health system's struggle to get more black and Asian donors

Despite several NHS publicity campaigns, only 4% of the 21 million people on the organ donor register are from black or minority ethnic backgrounds - but why?

The average adult waits three years for a kidney donation.

But Kieran Meht, 33, from Nottingham, waited 13 years, which doctors put down to him being Asian.

He was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of three and two previous transplants, including one from his mother, were unsuccessful.

"Life was difficult because I wasn't allowed out," he said. "I saw my brother go swimming, to karate, play football and I couldn't.

"I always saw myself as different from my friends. I had to always be careful with what I was doing."

Spending 20 hours a week on dialysis to keep his body going and having failed to find matches among friends and family, Mr Meht's hopes were pinned on generous strangers.

His agonising wait ended in April after doctors eventually matched a kidney.

Now recovering, he says he has a new life and is thinking about his future and planning his first holiday in more than a decade,

"I couldn't believe it. My mum was jumping up and down, going crazy but I had to keep my cool.

"I thought whatever's going to happen is going to happen. It's out of my hands now."

Mr Meht said people often cited religion or culture as reasons not to donate and some held back because they wanted to be cremated "as a whole".

"With the first generation who came to the UK there was a massive culture barrier," he said.

"My grandparents are not on the organ donor register.

"They have seen the amount of hurt and pain I have been through and yet they're stuck in their ways.

"I don't fault them in any way because that's the morals and values installed within them."

Source: NHS Blood and Transplant Service, external

Healthcare professionals say Asian people are more likely to need lifesaving organ transplants than the rest of the population because they are more susceptible to illnesses such as diabetes, kidney disease, viral infections and heart disease.

Ben Cole, an NHS blood and transplant specialist nurse in organ donation, said religion played a big part in people's decisions.

"We know there are several perceived barriers to donation often relating to beliefs, traditions and practices around death," he said.

"These can vary between ethnic and religious groups and some people may be anxious about what is permitted by their faith.

"All the major religions of the UK support the principles of organ donation and transplantation."

He said the NHS was working closely with faith leaders and religious groups to spread this message.

Last month, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham urged Muslims to consider donating to tackle the confusion over Islam's stance on the practice.

Transplant survivor and campaigner, Rik Basra, thinks opinions and attitudes in BME communities are slowly changing.

"There is a misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about the donation process among some communities," he said.

"One Muslim student once told me Islam said they couldn't donate but I have spoken to leaders and scholars who say that's not true so I don't know where that idea came from.

"In Sikh temples, older people were, in the past, quite reticent to allow their children to get involved or had misconceptions about what it entailed but through my campaigning, they are getting more knowledgeable about it."

Mr Basra, an inspector with Leicestershire Police, waited months for a stem cell transplant when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Given just weeks to live, the search took longer and even went international because of his ethnicity.

"It got to the 11th hour. It was extremely frustrating," he said.

"I found myself looking out the hospital window enviously at all the Asian people and thinking 'you could save my life if you were on the register'."

He has has since set up his own campaign to encourage more people, particularly black and Asian, to donate.

"In countries like India, Pakistan, Africa and the Far East, donor registers aren't developed so there is no culture of donation.

"Just by raising awareness and giving people the facts, the fear goes. If you can convince people there is nothing to fear you are half way there.

"I'm still here because somebody in Germany went to the trouble of registering and for every person I register, I think about that person.

"Everyone who signs up could be a lifesaver for somebody who is sitting in hospital, desperately waiting for a bit of good news."