Resident Campaigns For Minority Ethnic Kidney Donors To Come Forward
Four year wait for transplant leads man to campaign for better understanding
Ahmed Emrose (photo: St George's)
After waiting nearly five years for a kidney transplant, a Wandsworth resident is now raising awareness of donor shortage among minority ethnic communities.
Emrose Ahmed, 34, returned from a holiday in Vietnam five years ago and was taken to St George’s Hospital with pneumonia. Within a week, doctors found he had serious kidney failure and would need a trsnaplant.
Ahmed explains,
“When I was first diagnosed, it was really stressful; my eldest daughter was only nine months old.
“I’d previously been very active; balancing working in the city with family commitments and so being connected to huge machines on dialysis was quite overwhelming.
“Throughout my condition, my wife has been my rock. In the early days, we also had helpful advice from the St George’s Kidney Patients Association as I needed to follow a special diet.”
Although members of Ahmed's family wanted to donate their kidneys, they were not suitable. After four and a half years, in late 2018, Emrose was finally given the good news: doctors had found a match.
“The operation happened that same day and was a success. The team at St George’s and Colliers Wood helped so much with my recovery and ongoing treatment.”
Kidney failure is up to five times more common in people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and patients have to wait up to twice as long for a transplant due to a shortage of donors.
Now living in Streatham with his wife and three young daughters, Emrose plans to volunteer with the St George’s Kidney Patient Association to raise awareness. “There is a lack of awareness about kidney disease, especially in my community, and so I’d like to campaign for better understanding.”
“When you receive a diagnosis, you can either put your life on hold, or you can try to manage your situation as best you can.
“I’m looking forward to living my life to the full with my family.”
Written with contributions from Calum Rutter, Local Democracy Reporter
April 16, 2019