Dying for a transplant

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2019, British-Nigerian comedian Emmanuel Sonubi suffered from a near-fatal heart failure whilst on a comedy tour of Dubai. He had a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which means his heart was not pumping enough oxygen around his body, and he might need an urgent transplant. In the years since Emmanuel's condition has been controlled through medication but the threat of a heart transplant still looms large – as does the shortage of donors from people of his background where he lives in the UK. Emmanuel examines the cultural attitudes which stop people from taking part in organ donation and transplantation. He also hears from Dr. Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, director general of Organización Nacional de Trasplantes and Lalitha Raghuram, one of the leaders of the MOHAN Foundation, which helps spread awareness of organ donation across India.

Transcript

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0:00.0	More than 170,000 organ transplants are carried out globally every year,
0:09.2	providing a lifeline to people around the world.
0:11.9	But there's never enough donors to keep up with demand.
0:14.8	In Japan, the number of the donation has developed very slowly.
0:22.9	It can be mistrust, myths, and long-held beliefs that can stop people offering their organs.
0:29.1	In India, I'd say there's a lot of stigma.
0:33.1	It's supposed to be bad omen to talk about death with your loved one.
0:38.1	In Pakistan, we don't have the deceased organ transplantation as yet.
0:42.8	Although the law has been made, this is not being implemented
0:45.9	because people are still not convinced about it.
0:48.5	And transplants can also be costly.
0:51.1	In Pakistani rupees, it would come to about 70, 80 lakhs. Meanwhile, as demand for donors'
0:58.3	surges and some people turn to unethical or even illegal means, medics battle to keep pace with
1:04.9	fair access. If there is a liver available in Abu Dhabi, it can come to any Emirate. It can go to
1:10.7	wherever there's a transplant center.
1:12.1	If there's a kidney transplant center in Sharjah, they could get the kidney from Abu Dhabi.
1:16.1	It's an allocation system, which is fair for all transplant centers.
1:20.6	In Spain, it is between four and six hours since we received the call until organ recovery can be taking place.
1:28.4	This is quite quick compared to other countries.
1:31.3	In Germany, our mission is grounded on trust, compassion,
1:34.7	and the belief that organ donation is a powerful act of solidarity that can save lives.
1:38.9	For the next hour, this is the documentary Dying for a Transplant from the BBC World Service.
	...

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