The  Project

How we are raising awareness about organ donation

Action On Blood has been supporting Yinyinola Enterprises to expand its My Farewell Handbook organ donation project.  The project is part of the BAME Community Investment Scheme, which is led by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

In the first year of the project, which Yinyinola delivered last year, the goal was to inform black, Asian and other ethnic minorities about the organ donation law change that came into effect in May 2020, help them to explore their organ donation decision AND provide guidance on how to inform their families about all their wishes. 

Yinyinola ‘s idea was to include deceased organ donation within a wider conversation about end-of-Iife and legacy issues that remain taboo or poorly-understood subjects in many minority communities. 

It recognised that a person’s ability to enjoy life in old age and pay for the care they need reflects how much they earned before they retired and how much they were able to squirrel away in savings and pensions.  With lower incomes, on average, than the white population, black,  Asian and other ethnic minority elders have had less ability to save.  So they are more likely to suffer poverty in old age.

Working with a volunteer team of black,  Asian and other ethnic minority elders, Yinyinola produced a guide that covered issues around funeral planning, choosing long-term care and accommodation, writing a will and minimising inheritance tax. 

The guide was well received by diverse communities as it highlighted the challenges ethnic minorities specifically face with financial planning for old age.  By providing high level guidance, My Farewell Handbook has been helping adults from black,  Asian and other ethnic minority communities reduce their risk of experiencing old age poverty.

Following that success Yinyinola will CONTINUE the elements that worked well, ADAPT to respond to the learning it gained and SCALE it’s activities to reach a wider audience. 
 
Action On Blood is providing Yinyinola with distribution and order fulfilment support.  
  • You can order your FREE copy of My Farewell Handbook right here.
  • If you are an organisation that supports Black and Asian elders – churches, mosques, temples, charities, GP surgeries, hospices, care homes etc and would like copies of the handbook for your members, clients, patients or service users, you too can order right here.
People DO want to talk about and plan for death.  My Farewell Handbook empowers them to do so properly but in a culturally – sensitive way.
 
 
Order My Farewell Handbook

About Yinyinola Enterprises

Yinyinola is a care home provider for black and Asian ethnic minority elders, based in London. It is experienced at addressing challenging topics such as end-of-life care, making a will, and managing long term conditions. It supports its users to cope with terminal illness, interacting with their families. It understands and can negotiate the inter-generational and cultural conflicts that often arise when dealing with important issues like decisions around organ donation.

Yinyinola is a member of Action On Blood, a global community of donors committed to spreading the voluntary blood and organ donation message widely.