Family make appeal to Asian communities after son's organ donation saved three lives
- Jul 15
- 4 min read
The heartbroken family of a young man whose organs saved the lives of three people when he died are calling on more Asian families to have conversations about consenting to organ donation.
Eashan Madan, who had Down’s syndrome, was only 27 when he died last year following complications from surgery on a rare heart condition.
Eashan’s donated organs gave three people on the transplant waiting list a second chance at life. His kidneys were donated to women in their 20s and 30s, and his liver went to a man in his 40s. His pancreas was donated for research; a gift that could help many more in years to come.
Eashan’s parents Suvira and Sanjeev, who both work as consultants at hospitals in Sheffield, had been fully aware of his willingness to donate after he made his consent known when he joined the organ donor register in 2018.
As they prepare to attend the Westfield Health British Transplant Games for the first time, Suvira and Sanjeev are urging more people from ethnic minority communities to speak openly about organ donation to ensure that more lives can be saved.
Dr Suvira Madan, a Consultant Geriatrician at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Eashan was the most loving and caring young man who was cherished by all who knew and encountered him.
“While we will never be able to truly comprehend his passing, we take enormous comfort from the fact that his selflessness and desire to help others lives on in the people whose lives he saved.”
Suvira added: “Eashan was very open with us about his willingness to donate his organs if anything ever happened to him, so there was a never a second thought when we were asked the question about organ donation at what was such a traumatic time.
“We feel it’s our duty to continue his legacy by urging more people, especially those in ethnic minority communities where there is such a critical need, to have open conversations about consenting to organ donation because this act of compassion, in life and death, can save and change so many lives.”
The Madan family’s advice is especially poignant in light of figures from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) which show that Asian and black people are twice as likely to need a transplant than the general population, but half as likely to consent to organ donation.
The organ transplant waiting list in the UK is at record levels. The latest figures from NHSBT, for the 12 months to April 2025, showed more than 8,200 people were waiting for a transplant. Of those, 2,526 (30.8%) were from ethnic minority backgrounds.* Kidneys account for most of this demand, and outcomes are generally best when donor and recipient share the same ethnicity due to similarities in blood group and tissue type.
Even though organ donation among people from ethnic minority backgrounds increased slightly in 2024, according to NHSBT data, Asian patients still face a much longer wait for a suitable organ than white people.
Suvira, who lives in Hope, Derbyshire, said: “A very distressing health inequality exists in the UK. We are determined to continue Eashan’s legacy in the hope it will increase organ donation among ethnic minority communities, drive down wait times and, ultimately, save lives.
“Life wasn’t easy for Eashan, as a person with Down’s syndrome, yet he was always so positive, had a can-do attitude and always saw the good in people. It was Eashan’s ambition to help others where he could. We are simply carrying this on in his memory.”
Eashan attended Talbot Specialist School in Sheffield, where he was twice elected to the student council. He achieved his Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award and a National Citizen Award, before going on to gain qualifications in Maths, English and Catering at Sheffield City College.
With support from the Down’s Syndrome Association’s WorkFit programme, he worked at Sheffield Railway Station and the Carriage House Café in Chatsworth. During the Covid pandemic he volunteered at a local foodbank, further underlining the generosity that defined him.
A lover of music and the arts, Eashan learned to create animated films at Flycheese Studio, made art with Artworks, was in a band called Clubland Detectives and, with support from the Under the Stars team, would regularly perform DJ sets at legendary Sheffield music venue The Leadmill.
Suvira and Sanjeev, an Orthopaedic Surgeon at hospitals in Sheffield and Doncaster, also want Eashan’s story to break down barriers and misconceptions around organ donation among people with a disability.
“Eashan was a shining example of how adults with Down’s syndrome can lead independent lives and contribute meaningfully to society,” Sanjeev said.
“Nothing ever stood in his way or stopped him from doing something, including organ donation.
“We want people to understand that disability is no barrier to organ donation and the ability to give life to others.”
The family is now preparing to have an involvement at this year’s Westfield Health British Transplant Games, which is taking place in Sheffield from August 6 to 9.
The Games will see more than 2,500 transplant recipients, living donors and donor families take part in 26 different sports in a powerful celebration of organ donation and how transplant recipients can lead active, healthy lives.
For information about organ donation, or to register your decision, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk
For more information about the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, visit www.transplantactive.co.uk
ENDS
Comments