Page 2859 - Week 09 - Thursday, 27 September 2007
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Health—organ donors
(Question No 1653)
Mrs Burke asked the Minister for Health, upon notice, on 23 August 2007 (redirected to the Acting Minister for Health):
(1) How many ACT residents have registered for organ donation as at 30 June 2007;
(2) What proportion of eligible people in the ACT have registered for organ donation;
(3) How does the ACT compare with other Australian States and Territories;
(4) What action has the ACT Government taken to increase the number of people registering for organ donation;
(5) What evaluation has been carried out to assess the effectiveness of community education programs for organ donation;
(6) Is the Minister or the Government considering the “opt-out” system for organ donation; if so, at what point are discussions up to; if not, why not.
Mr Corbell: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) As of 30 June 2007 there were 47,546 ACT residents on the Australian Organ Donation Register (AODR)
(2) Approximately 18% of the eligible ACT population has registered formally on the AODR.
(3) ACT registration rates are above NT (11.1%) and similar to Victoria (18%). They are below the other states (30-55%) which have all transferred data from their car licence databases.
(4) The ACT Government has employed 2 Donor Coordinators at the Canberra Hospital to cover organ and tissue donations in the ACT and regional NSW to ensure 24 a day 365 days a year coverage. The ACT service plays a significant role in community awareness raising.
In addition, the Government provides ongoing funding to Gift of Life Inc (formerly the ACT Organ Donation Awareness Foundation) to conduct community awareness activities, and has done so for some years.
The ACT provides funding to Australians Donate, the national peak body, as part of a national funding agreement. TCH is one of 21 hospitals Australia wide currently involved in a national collaborative exercise on organ donation coordinated by Australians Donate to ensure best practice is performed with regard to identification and management of organ donation processes. TCH was invited to participate in recognition of the fact that it is one of the highest performing hospitals in this field.
(5) The effectiveness of local community education progress is best evidenced by the regular increase in the number of ACT residents registered on the AODR:
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