To mark Organ Donation Week (22 - 28 September 2025), the University is highlighting its work after receiving funding from NHS Blood and Transplant to develop and run a community campaign led by student ambassadors, transplant recipients and organ donors from different ethnic and faith communities.

The project draws directly on the University’s world-leading research, which has shown that tailored messages and trusted messengers are essential to champion organ donation conversations.

Professor Gurch Randhawa, Director of the University’s Institute for Health Research and a leading international expert on public engagement and organ donation, said: “It’s a privilege to be implementing our research, connecting organ donor families, communities, and faith groups to tackle the global problem of too few organ donors. By empowering university student ambassadors and using creative approaches like art, games and quizzes, we can promote open conversations and address the lower rates of organ donation among minority ethnic communities.”

The University’s student ambassadors are working with community partners across Luton, including the Centre for Youth and Community Development (CYCD), to co-host events designed to encourage dialogue and awareness. One event, Coffee and Conversation, will take place on Wednesday 24 September 2025, 11am–1pm at CYCD, hosted by Councillor Fatima Begum – herself a two-time kidney transplant recipient.

Councillor Begum said: “As a direct beneficiary of organ donation, I know the life-transforming impact it has. Each organ donor is a silent hero leaving a permanent mark on the lives they touch. It is exciting to work with university students to raise awareness through activities that engage all generations of our communities.”

Every day someone in the UK dies waiting for a transplant, with around 7,000 people currently on the waiting list. Yet, as only 1,400 people die in circumstances where organ donation is possible, every donation counts. University of Bedfordshire research highlights that the shortage is particularly acute among minority ethnic communities.

The project is led by Dr Britzer Paul Vincent Paul Raj, Research Fellow and recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Asian Society of Transplantation. He added: “Our research shows that younger generations are more open to conversations on organ donation but often lack the opportunity to have them. By training student ambassadors from a wide range of faith and ethnic backgrounds, we are creating trusted leaders who can take these conversations into the heart of their communities.”

To find out more about the work of the Organ Donation and Transplant Research Centre (ODTRC) at the University of Bedfordshire, visit: https://www.beds.ac.uk/ihr/about/centres/odtrc/