A NURSE who has raised awareness for organ donation in East Lancashire is travelling to an international conference in South Korea this week.

Specialist organ donation nurse Angie Ditchfield will speak at the 13th Congress of the International Society of Organ Donation and Procurement in Seoul from October 17-20.

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Ms Ditchfield launched the campaign It’s About Time to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation among South Asian communities in East Lancashire.

Angie Ditchfield said: “I’m thrilled to be the standard bearer for the NHS and East Lancashire at a gathering of the world’s leading organ donation experts.”

Black and minority ethnic groups are three to four times more likely to need an organ transplant than white people but are under-represented on the organ donor register.

Body tissues have racially specific characteristics, which mean that transfusions and transplants are far more likely to be successful when the donor and recipient are of a similar ethnic background.

While 11 per cent of the UK population are from an ethnic minority, only 3.5 per cent of people from these groups are signed up to the organ donor register.

It’s About Time was launched with the support of Blackburn community group One Voice, which aims to improve the most deprived communities in Blackburn and Darwen.

She said: “Through my work as a specialist nurse, I have seen how organ transplantation can have a huge and life changing impact on people’s lives.

“Now ‘It’s About Time’ will be known around the world and I could not be more delighted.”