Woman in BAME donor campaign has liver transplant

A woman at the centre of an appeal for more people from ethnic backgrounds to be organ donors has received a “second chance” with a live transplant.

Sunaina Paul, 31, of Bearwood, in the West Midlands, was a priority on the transplant list, but a shortage of BAME (Black and Asian Minority Ethnic) donors meant that finding a match for her would be difficult.

However, she has now had a successful operation and is recovering in hospital.

Her auntie, Jaimini LakHani said that the family felt “blessed and grateful”.

British Punjabi Ms Paul was born with Biliary Atresia, which is a condition which bile ducts in the live are blocked, which leads to a build-up of bile, which causes damage to the liver.

“When the coronavirus pandemic broke out, Sunaina was asked to shield, but, her condition deteriorated”, her auntie said.

She received a call from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, saying that it had a potential liver for her.

The transplant took place shortly after with her family being told that it was successful.