A lack of kidney donors means people from ethnic minorities wait twice as long as white people for a kidney transplant, according to health chiefs.

Of the 210 people on the transplant list in Lancashire there are 38 from Asian, black and ethnic minority communities who can expect to wait up to six years longer than the average three year wait.

Health bosses say people from Asian, black and Afro-Caribbean communities are also three times more likely to need a transplant because of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, which can cause organ failure.

Preston mother-of-three Bilkis Mohammed, 41, has been on the transplant list for a number of years after being diagnosed with kidney disease during the pregnancy of her third child, Nassar, eight.

He was born by Caesarean section three months prematurely and Mrs Mohammed, of Highrigg Drive, Broughton, has been on dialysis, three times a week, for the past two years.

"A kidney transplant would mean that the family and I could do the things 'normal families' do, she said. "I can't remember the last time we went away together, for instance. Although the hospital is very good, and will sort things out, it takes a lot of planning beforehand on top of everything else.

"Being on dyalsis also makes me very tired. I've had to cut down my hours at work and even a simple shopping trip will leave me with achy joints."

It comes as health chiefs reveal the number of people needing a transplant is expected to rise over the next decade due to an aging population, an increase in kidney failure and scientific advances resulting in more people being suitable for a transplant.

The shortage of donors was the focus of a special conference yesterday (Wednesday), organised in conjunction with the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, where community and religious leaders came together to discuss the escalating problem and devise a 12-month action plan.

Helen Bradley, Organ and Tissue Donor Liaison Sister, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The shortage of organ donors is a life and death time bomb for thousands of people and it is set to become worse unless we act now."