People from religious groups, including Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and Sikhs, are being urged to think about organ donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has published a series of leaflets setting out the view of each faith in relation to the process.

It comes as faith leaders from all the major UK religions joined together at a meeting this morning to promote organ donation.

NHSBT said that while all the major religions in the UK support the principles of organ donation, religion and culture "can sometimes be barriers" to people joining the organ donor register.

Just 1.4% of people on the register are Asian and 0.4% come from black communities.

These groups are three times more likely to need a transplant owing to conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure which can lead to kidney failure or heart disease.

Finding a match can also take longer, and success rates are better when transplants are carried out within the same ethnic group.

The leaflets, which are available to download, set out why each religion allows organ donation.

The leaflet on Buddhism says there are "no injunctions in Buddhism for or against organ donation".

It adds: "Central to Buddhism is a wish to relieve suffering and there may be circumstances where organ donation may be seen as an act of generosity. Where it is truly the wish of the dying person, it would be seen in that light."

The leaflet on Islam reads: "In Islam there are two schools of thought with regard to organ donation.

"The human body, whether living or dead, enjoys a special honour and is inviolable, and fundamentally, Islamic law emphasises the preservation of human life.

"The general rule that 'necessities permit the prohibited' (al-darurat tubih al-mahzurat), has been used to support human organ donation with regard to saving or significantly enhancing a life of another provided that the benefit outweighs the personal cost that has to be borne."

The Christian leaflet says "organ donation can be considered by Christians as a genuine act of love", while the one on Judaism says: "In principle Judaism sanctions and encourages organ donation in order to save lives."

The Sikhi leaflet says: "There are no taboos attached to organ donation in Sikhi nor is there a requirement that a body should have all its organs intact at or after death," and the Hindu one says: "There are many references that support the concept of organ donation in Hindu scriptures."

Sally Johnson, NHSBT's director of organ donation and transplantation, said after this morning's meeting: "This is the first time that representatives from all the major religions have met to discuss organ donation, and it is hoped this event will help develop the relationship and links between faith leaders and NHSBT and assist in dispelling any myths and concerns that people in these communities may have.

"We are grateful to the faith leaders for their time and input into developing the new leaflets, which we hope will help to inform and reassure religious communities that all the major religions agree to organ donation.

"We hope to see more people sign up to the organ donor register as a result, so that more lives can be saved."