Celebrity-backed organ and stem cell donation campaign launches

The government has announced the launch of a new celebrity-backed campaign aimed at increasing organ and stem cell donation rates in the UK.

Singers Alesha Dixon and Beverley Knight, as well as actors David Harewood and Colin Salmon, will be featured prominently in the National BAME Transplant Alliance project, which is specifically targeted at black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations.

Each year, 180 people from these groups die waiting for a transplant because of a longstanding shortage of suitable organs, with the BAME population experiencing much lower donor matching rates.

Charities and organisations such as the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, the National Kidney Federation, NHS Blood and Transplant and the South Asian Health Foundation will all support the project.

Public health minister Anne Milton said: "We want everyone to join the NHS Organ Donor Register and make the time to discuss their wishes with family members so they know what to do."

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, more than 10,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant, with around 1,000 a year dying due to a lack of available organs.