BBC newsreader donates kidney to save mother

A BBC news presenter who donated a kidney to save his mother's life says her health has been 'completely transformed' since having the operation.

Sabet Choudhury was told his mother Sakina, 70, could have only three years to live after her kidneys failed.

He said he had "little choice" but to donate a kidney, as she could have been waiting 10 years for a transplant because of the lack of deceased donors among black and Asian people.

"She could have waited to find a kidney from someone on the Organ Donor Register, but that would have taken a long time, which she did not necessarily have," he said.

The operation was a success, but he said the wait for other black and minority ethnic (BME) families could be "long and fatal".

Transplants are more likely to be successful if the donor is of a similar ethnic background because blood and tissue types are more likely to match, according to NHS Blood and Transplant.

Sabet, a presenter for BBC Points West news in southwest England, is urging more black and Asian people to register to donate organs.

'New lease of life'

Sakina, who is of Bangladeshi origin, suffered kidney failure in December 2013. Doctors said she needed a new kidney and immediately began searching for a donor.

Sabet, 41, from Gloucester, said it had been hard to watch his mother having to be hooked up to a dialysis machine three times a week with a "pretty poor quality of life".

"Dialysis keeps you alive, but it doesn't make you better," he said. Many patients, especially older people, only survive for a few years on dialysis and need a transplant to save their life.

"You don't want to see that happen in front of your eyes, that quickly, knowing you can do something about it," said Sabet.

After months of tests, Sabet was told he would be a suitable donor. About a third of all kidney transplants carried out in the UK are from living donors.

His initial fear was the procedure would affect his health, but he was back at work within six weeks of the three-hour operation, carried out in Bristol in November 2014.

"I've returned to full health since the operation," he said. "In fact I'm probably healthier now because the process has made me more health conscious."

He said the new kidney has given his mother a new lease of life. "The difference between how she is now and how she was before is like night and day. She looks 10 years younger.

"Being free of that dialysis machine … it's as if her arms and legs have been untied. She has rediscovered a lust for life that I thought she would never have again."

'You could save nine lives'

People from an ethnic minority background have to wait around 10 months longer than average for kidney transplants because of the shortage of matching donors.

Only 3.5% of people from ethnic minorities are on the Organ Donor Register, while more than a third of those needing a transplant are from ethnic minorities.

"My view is that if you are prepared to take, you should also be prepared to give," said Sabet. "You will be helping people in your own community. One person donating their organs could save nine lives. That's a beautiful thing.

"If you do sign up, it's a good idea to tell family and friends about your intentions," he said. If you register your wishes without telling the people closest to you, it may come as a surprise when they are trying to deal with their loss.

"Telling your loved ones that you want to be a donor will make it easier for them to agree to the donation in the event of your death," said Sabet.

Some people may be reluctant to donate organs, believing it goes against their religion, but the major religions in the UK all support the principles of organ donation and transplantation.

Find out what your religion says about organ donation on the Organ Donation website.

South Asian health issues

If you're from a south Asian background, you're more likely than people from other communities in the UK to have certain health conditions.

This is also the case for some mixed-race people of south Asian descent.

The term "south Asian" in these articles refers to anyone of Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Sri Lankan origin.

While each of these communities has its own unique culture and background, they all share some common health issues.

Read more about:

Diabetes and heart disease

Smoking and chewing tobacco

Eye health and kidney health

Blood and organ donation

Travelling to south Asia

Diabetes and heart disease

People in the UK from south Asian communities are about twice as likely to develop diabetes compared with people from white European backgrounds.

South Asian people are also more likely to develop diabetes at a younger age.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is also more common in south Asian people, as is the risk of dying early from CHD.

Experts aren’t sure why this is the case, but it may be linked to diet, lifestyle and different ways of storing fat in the body.

Check your risk of diabetes

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that all south Asian people aged 25 and older should be encouraged to have a risk assessment for diabetes.

You can ask you GP practice to assess your risk of diabetes. Some pharmacies, dentists and opticians also offer assessments.

You can also use an online diabetes assessment tool.

All adults aged 40-74 should be offered an NHS Health Check every five years, which includes an assessment of your diabetes risk.

Check your weight

Being a healthy weight is important for everyone's health.

But research shows that fat around the belly of a south Asian person is more risky than the same amount of fat in a white person.

South Asian adults are given the following advice:

• If you have a body mass index (BMI) of 23 or more, you have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• If your BMI is 27.5 or more, you have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Calculate your BMI to find out if you are a healthy weight for your height.

Reduce your risk

There are many things you can do to improve your health and reduce your risk of developing heart disease or diabetes, such as maintaining a healthy weight and doing more exercise.

Find out more:

• Reduce your diabetes risk
• 10 healthy heart tips
• 10 tips for a healthy diet
• Find out about fat
• Build more physical activity into your day

Children and diabetes

Children of south Asian origin in the UK are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than white European children.

Weight gain caused by eating traditional foods high in sugar and fat, alongside Western "fast foods", is thought to be a contributing factor, according to Diabetes UK.

Get advice on managing your child's weight.

Smoking and chewing tobacco

Rates of smoking are generally lower in Indian communities in England than in the general population.

However, Bangladeshi and Pakistani men have higher rates of smoking than in the general population.

Smoking bidi or shisha, and chewing paan or gutkha – both of which are forms of "smokeless tobacco" – can be harmful, too.

Find out about the risks of paan, bidi and shisha, and getting support to quit.

Eye health and kidney health

The eye condition acute glaucoma and chronic kidney disease can affect anybody, but people from south Asian communities have a higher risk.

Having diabetes increases the chances of developing kidney disease, and research suggests that diabetes can also raise the risk of glaucoma.

Learn more about kidney disease and glaucoma.

Blood and organ donation

Organ and blood donation among south Asian, African and African Caribbean communities is relatively low.

This means that there is a shortage of donor organs and blood matching the tissue or blood type of members of these ethnic groups.

You can add your name to the NHS Organ Donor Register online.

Find out why it's important for ethnic minorities to donate blood and organs.

Read what different religions say about blood and organ donation.

Travelling to south Asia

Many cases of typhoid and malaria in the UK are in people who have returned from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

If you're travelling to south Asia, find out about:

• getting vaccinated against typhoid
• protecting yourself against malaria

Paan, bidi and shisha

Tobacco that you don’t smoke (including paan, betel quid and chewing tobacco) is not a 'safe' way to use tobacco. It causes cancer and can be as addictive as smoking. Find out the risks and how you can quit.

Stop smoking

Chewing tobacco and cancer risk

Betel quid, paan or gutkha is a mixture of ingredients, including betel nut (also called areca nut), herbs, spices and often tobacco, wrapped in a betel leaf.

Chewing smokeless tobacco, such as paan or gutkha, is popular with many people from south Asian communities, but all forms of tobacco can harm your health.

Research has shown that using smokeless tobacco raises the risk of mouth cancer and oesophageal cancer.

Studies have also found that betel itself can raise the risk of cancer, so chewing betel quid without tobacco is still harmful.

Cigarettes, bidi and shisha

Smoking increases your risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems. This is true whether you smoke cigarettes, bidi (thin cigarettes of tobacco wrapped in brown tendu leaf) or shisha (also known as a water pipe or hookah).

A World Health Organization study has suggested that during one session on a water pipe (around 20 to 80 minutes) a person can inhale the same amount of smoke as a cigarette smoker consuming 100 or more cigarettes.

Like cigarette smoke, water pipe smoke contains cancer-causing chemicals and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide.

Quit smoking and tobacco

The most effective way to quit smoking and tobacco use is with expert help from a stop smoking adviser.

Your free local NHS Stop Smoking Service can provide medication and expert support to help you quit.

Many services also offer support to help you stop using smokeless tobacco, such as paan.

You can call the Smokefree National Helpline for free on 0300 123 1044 (0300 123 1014 minicom), and ask to speak to an interpreter for the language you need.

The helpline is open 9am-8pm Monday to Friday and 11am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

More on quitting smoking

• How NHS stop smoking services can help you quit
• Using e-cigarettes to stop smoking
• 8 key times to quit smoking
• Stop smoking treatments
• Get daily support to quit with the NHS Smokefree app