Thursday 27 October 2011

How can you help ?

Here we have an article about Bobby Singh, published by the Evening Times.

A RESTAURATEUR who almost died after buying a kidney transplant abroad has backed the Evening Times’ campaign to launch an ‘opt out’ system of organ donation in Scotland.

Bobby Singh, 46, from Glasgow, believes an opt-out policy – where the default position is that everyone is a donor – would vastly increase his chances of receiving the life-saving kidney transplant he needs.



The father-of-three made the “desperate” decision to pay £22,000 for a transplant in Pakistan in 2005 after being on the register for five years.

However, he became gravely ill during his flight back to Glasgow. Doctors found the new organ was dying and removed it.

Remarkably, despite almost losing his life, Mr Singh admits he has again considered buying another kidney because he is still waiting for a transplant seven years on.

His situation has been made worse because of an acute shortage of registered kidney donors from the Asian community. People from black and ethnic minorities wait, on average, twice as long as others on the list. He knows of another Asian man who has been waiting 25 years.

Mr Singh said: “It’s very hard. How long can a person stay positive? I am thinking about going abroad again and I know I might not come out of it alive.

I have contemplated suicide, I am on anti-depressants. For me to get a transplant would be a total change of life.

I would feel the same as the Scottish couple who won £161million on the Lottery. Better in fact.

Around 90% of patients on the transplant list across the UK are waiting for a kidney.

The restaurateur was a healthy and fit father-of-three, working long hours in the family business, Mr Singh’s India, when he began to feel unwell during a Scotland match at Hampden Park in November 2004.

His condition deteriorated and his brother, Satty, took him to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where blood samples were taken.

Until then, the keen footballer jokes he had never spent any time in hospital apart from the day he was born. A nurse told him both kidneys had shut down. He was put straight on to dialysis, a process that continues to this day.

Dialysis cleans waste products from the blood when the kidneys fail. Without it, all patients with kidney failure would die from the build-up of toxins in the bloodstream.

However, it requires Mr Singh to be in the New Victoria Hospital three times a week for five hours at a time.

He said: “You don’t live a normal life. I used to be quite hands-on in the business, but I have not got the energy to do much now.

I used to enjoy going out and having a beer, but I am allowed only a tumbler of liquid a day, otherwise it will put pressure on my kidneys.

I can’t go on holiday with my family, only day trips.

Mr Singh is backing our campaign to persuade the Scottish Government to introduce an opt-out policy on organ donation, where people could still easily opt-out or giving organs and relatives would still be consulted.

Supporters argue there would be substantial economic benefits for the NHS, as well as the potential to save thousands more lives.

Mr Singh said: “It costs about £1100 a week to keep me alive – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, including the expensive drugs I take, and the injections when on dialysis.

Some people do eight hours a day.

People are dying waiting for a transplant. Many organs are going to waste.

I think Scotland could do it alone. If we go for opt out, the public do not have to do anything apart from tell their loved ones.

I understand most people are scared of death and talking about it. I would be scared of dying too if I was healthy.

Mr Singh visits mosques around the city to help raise awareness about organ donation amongst the Asian population, which has a very low uptake on the national register.

Last year his restaurant hosted the launch of Scotland’s first Kidney Research UK kidney disease awareness scheme.

The peer-educator’ initiative targets sections of the population, including communities where close family members have been diagnosed with kidney disease, and ethnic communities, like his Asian community, where there is a prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes.

Dr Neerja Jain, of Kidney Research UK, said: “Asians are up to five times more likely to get kidney failure than the white community, but they are much less likely to get a transplant. The number of people within ethnic minorities who carry donor cards is also significantly lower.

Generally, people in the black and ethnic community are waiting almost twice as long for transplant, if at all.

People within the south Asian population also have a disproportionately high rate of diabetes and high blood pressure.

An Asian person on dialysis is 10 times more likely to get kidney failure than someone from the white community. We don’t really know why.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP

WE need your help to make this happen and save more lives. Lines are open 24 hours a day all year round. Calls are charged at your contracted rate for local calls.

Sign our petition to lend your support to an ‘opt out’ system for organ donation at here.

You can also sign up on Twitter and Facebook here. And don’t forget to send the link to all of your friends and relatives.



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Monday 24 October 2011

How well do you know us ?

You may remember from some of previous posts, where we mentioned that we will have more fun competitions in store for you, we are pleased to announce that moment has now arrived.

We have teamed up with Exofan to bring you, our fans, an exciting new competition. It's free, it should be fun and there are some great prizes up for grabs.

Basically what Exofan does is test your knowledge on Mister Singh's. Make your way through a series of questions to prove you are a true fan of Mister Singh's.


Some of the great prizes  include a meal for 4, places at our Curry Karaoke night, big discounts and curry pies. There's also a very special offer for everyone who enters !


To sign up, just follow the step by step guide and see how well you know us within minutes.

You can register to the website here.

To keep up to date with Exofan, please follow them on Facebook and Twitter.


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Tuesday 18 October 2011

A thank you to the fans !!

At Mister Singh's we like to make sure that as soon as our customers walk through our doors, they have not only the best food available, but the best service too. And like any other businesses who take pride in their trade, we always appreciate when people take the time to get in touch with us, to tell us about their time at Mister Singh's.

Since joining social media, engaging with our loyal fans has never been easier (except from when they are in the restaurant of course) but with social media so accessible via mobile phones and tablet devices etc. our fans can connect with us pretty much whenever they choose.

That's why we appreciate all feedback we get, it means people have taken their time to talk to us. It gives us an opportunity to give them the best service we can offer, not only in when they come to the restaurant, but when they engage with us online as well.


To finish off we would just like to thank everyone for their kind words, and we will continue to give you the best service and food that you all deserve. 



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Tuesday 11 October 2011

Make sure you get your bookings in early...

With the busy Christmas period approaching, we've decided to give you all a little incentive to get your bookings in early.

Because we want you to have the best service when you visit us, we have started this offer for when you are making your plans on where to dine over the festive holidays. When you are booking for a party for 5 people or over, you will receive a 10% discount off of your food bill, if you have ordered your lunch or dinner from the Christmas menu.

An example of this would be if you had a party of 5, you would get 10% off of your food, leaving you with a discounted total for your meal. If you have not yet seen the menu and would like to do so, you can download it here.

PLEASE NOTE that this offer is only available if you get your bookings in before October 31st - So make sure you get your booking in before the end of the month.

As well as this promotion we have more offers on for you all, such as our Karaoke Nights which will be running every Thursday, Friday and Saturday throughout December, and if you don't want your night to end there, you can gain free passes for nightclubs in the city centre, such as Jumpin Jaks, Club 30 and Savoy. We would also like to remind you that we have Mister Singh's vouchers, great as a gift for a friend, or even as stocking fillers. To find out more about any of these offers please call the restaurant, and our staff will be happy to help - 0141 204 0186.

We have many more surprises in store for you all, such as fun competitions, more videos and pakora master classes from Mister Singh's, so please be sure to visit the website and remember to follow the Blog, Facebook and Twitter, so you don't miss out !!


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