Witness Evidence Sessions

Thursday 29^th June 2023 10 am – 12.30 pm

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Witness Evidence Sessions, an important part of our ongoing inquiry into health inequalities in transplant and transfusion treatments. These sessions will be chaired by Sarah Olney MP on behalf of the APPG and held virtually via this Zoom link on Thursday 29th of June 2023 between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm.

You are invited to participate as an observer. The sessions will be recorded and a video of the sessions will later be made available on https://www.teammargot.com/all-party-parliamentary-group-inquiry/

The sessions will feature a panel of distinguished witnesses – please see below and click here for their biographies. Their collective expertise will illuminate the current state of organ, blood, and stem cell donation in the UK, particularly as it pertains to the needs and experiences of our diverse communities.

Our aim in these sessions is to foster a candid dialogue and to explore how we can collaboratively work to reduce health inequalities. We are particularly keen to understand how we can increase donor registration from underrepresented groups and in doing so improve patient outcomes.

This inquiry is driven by a commitment to the principles of fairness, representation, and health equity. We are eager to learn from our witnesses’ experience and insights, and to translate this knowledge into meaningful, actionable changes. Their testimonies and ideas, alongside the evidence submissions received will play a crucial role in helping us achieve our goals.

We view these sessions as an opportunity for open, transparent conversation. By engaging key stakeholders in this dialogue, we hope to ensure that the voices of all communities are heard, and their unique experiences and needs are taken into account in shaping the future of transplant and transfusion treatments in the UK.

These sessions underline our belief in ‘doing the doing’—in using this inquiry not just as an exploration, but as a catalyst for change.

We are very grateful to everyone who has submitted evidence for this inquiry and in particular to our witnesses for their time and commitment to this important cause, and we look forward to a productive and enlightening session.

Thank you.

Team Margot Foundation
Group Secretariat

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Session 1 (10am – 11am)
Outlining the problem

Orin Lewis OBE, CEO, African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust

Gurch Randhawa PhD FFPH DL, Professor of Diversity in Public Health & Director, Institute for Health Research University of Bedfordshire

Michele Salter, CPFA (Hons), Chair of Trustees & Treasurer, Sickle Cell Society UK

Delordson Kallon, PhD., FIBMS, FRCPath, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Specialty Clinical Lead for Transplantation,NHS East and South East London Pathology Partnership Barts Health NHS Trust, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)

Rajesh Sivaprakasam MBBS, MRCS, M.Phil ( Cambridge), FICRS, FACS, FRCS
Consultant in Transplant, Access and General Surgery,  Lead for Robotic renal failure Surgery, Research and Education, Chair for Bartshealth Robotic research programme.

Session 2 (11:30am – 12:30pm)
Current provision and issues

Gail Miflin, Chief Medical Officer and Director of Clinical Services, NHS Blood and Transplant

David Rose, Director of Donor Experience and Communications, NHS Blood and Transplant

Henny Braund, CEO, Anthony Nolan

Professor Smeeta Sinha, National Clinical Director for Renal Services, NHS England

Professor John Snowden BSc, MBChB, MD, FRCP (London), FRCP (Edin), FRCPath, DTM&H, Consultant Haematologist, Director of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) Programme, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Yaser

Husband to Vicki and father to Oscar (2007), Rufus (2008), Digby (2015), Humphrey (2017) & Margot (2012-2014)