A WOMAN whose mother died while waiting for a kidney donor today spoke of the nightmare of trying to find a match of her own.

And health bosses said Jamaila Hussain's plight highlighted the struggle to find organ donors from Asian and ethnic groups.

Religious and community leaders are now to meet health professionals at a conference in a bid to tackle the problem after a rise in kidney failure within minority communities.

Jamaila, 30, of London Road, Blackburn, was diagnosed with kidney failure aged 15. She said: "My mother, Rushida, waited for more than 12 years and died aged 65 six years ago. A kidney would have saved her.

"She had a transplant, but it was not a good enough match and it failed. She died waiting.

"I've realised how much of a common problem this is. I know many people who are waiting for suitable donors.

"I've been waiting for half of my life. It's a very personal issue and not something discussed out of doors. That's may be why there are so few Asian donors."

More than 6,000 people in the UK, many thought to be from Asian and ethnic minority communities, need a transplant, but the shortage means fewer than 3,000 operations are carried out each year.

Steve Bell, regional manager at UK Transplant, the NHS authority in charge of organ donation, said: "Patients from Asian and Afro Caribbean communities who suffer organ failure are less likely to receive a life-saving or life-enhancing transplant than those from the wider community.

"This is due to the lack of suitably matched organs. There are still cultural objections and in some communities there's lack of understanding. Asian communities are having to wait longer as more white people donate organs, who are not matches."

Jamaila is just one of 150 members at Blackburn and District Kidney Support Group.

The Organ Donation, Faith and Culture Conference organised by The University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations, will devise a 12-month action plan to raise awareness. Kamlesh Patel, director for Centre of Ethnicity and Health, University of Central Lancashire, said: "This is a crucial issue and one that can't be tackled by health services alone."

Call Blackburn and District Donor Support Group on01254 721 595 or visit its website www.blackburnkidneygroup.org.uk

To sign up for a donor card call The National Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400.