Have you had a talk about organ donation yet?:

Australia’s official organ donor rates have increased to record levels for the first quarter of 2013 according to the Australian and New Zealand Organ Donation Registry (ANZOD).

The data show consistent record growth in organ donation and transplantation.

“In the first quarter of 2013, the national outcome of 119 donors is a 55% increase on donors for the same period for 2012. This means 70 more people have benefited from a transplant in just the first three months of this year, compared to the same time last year,” said the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Shayne Neumann.

“In March alone, we achieved a new national record of 50 donors, the highest monthly deceased organ donation outcome since national records began. The average monthly outcome was less than 20 donors prior to the DonateLife Network being established in 2009, so the increase is significant.”

This growth comes on top of periodic monthly record outcomes that have occurred since the introduction of the Australian Government’s reforms in 2007.

“Even before the 2013 increase, organ donation levels had already increased by 43% since 2009.We are confident that with continued specialist training to build change in donation practice in hospitals, increased public support and awareness of family wishes, and the dedicated work undertaken in the health system, more lives will be transformed through organ donation.”

“This outcome is only made possible through the generosity of donors and their families who consent to organ donation in a time of traumatic loss and grief. I pay tribute to these Australians for honouring the wishes of their family member and generously giving life to others,” said Mr Neumann.

Professor Peter Macdonald, President of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand said that transplant units across the country are feeling the impact of the increase in donation rates. 

“Since 2009, heart transplants have increased by 22% and luntransplants have increased by 30% in the same period. The most notable growth is in kidney transplants, increasing by 36%,” said Professor Macdonald. 

Mr Neumann encouraged Australians to talk about their wishes with their families.

“When families know the donation decision of a loved one, they are more likely to support donation proceeding,” he said.

Currently, the majority (86%) of Australians surveyed would agree to donation if they knew their family member was willing to become an organ donor; yet, only 56% of people would agree to donation if the wishes of the deceased were unknown. 

A recent high profile recipient of a donated kidney was the ABC’s Mark Colvin who was the subject of last night’s Four Corners program.

See also the column from intensive care specialist, and inaugural Medical Director of the Organ and Tissue Donation Authority, Dr Gerry O’Callaghan on this issue.

* * *

For further information, visit donatelife.gov.au