Page 633 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 9 March 2011
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In closing, Mr Assistant Speaker, I would like to thank you for raising this motion today in the Assembly. I would like to affirm my personal commitment and the commitment of the Canberra Liberals to raising the awareness of organ and tissue donation and I hope that we will all take this opportunity to discover, to decide and to discuss.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (4.15): I thank Mr Hargreaves for bringing this issue to the attention of the Assembly today. As Mr Hanson and Mr Hargreaves have both outlined, this is an issue through which open discussion in a forum such as this today will help raise the profile of the importance of organ donation and raise it as an issue that people feel they can then discuss with their family and friends.
Mr Hargreaves’s motion raises some very important issues that the Greens believe need further consideration. It is very welcome news to hear that 10 multi-organ donations were received in 2010 in the ACT, which transformed the lives of 32 people.
DonateLife is providing vital work in educating and informing Australians around organ donation. This information can be critical for loved ones making the decision to donate the organs of a loved one. It is a very personal decision and one that is often fraught, and I recognise this. What is critical is that those Australians who have decided to donate their organs make their wishes clear to their family. This vital discussion can make a traumatic time a little easier.
I note the peace and pride reported by family members of loved ones whose organs have been donated after their death. DonateLife has compiled a book of stories from donors’ families and recipients, some of which Mr Hanson has already read out today. It is very moving and includes, amongst others, two from the ACT.
Terry Connolly, ACT Supreme Court judge and former MLA, was one of those people. Terry’s life was cut short in 2007, at the age of 49. His wife, Helen, has said:
I hope his example will inspire others to talk to their family and register as donors, if they feel that it is the right decision for them to take. Talking openly about this special issue is not depressing—it’s an act of love.
Another ACT resident who gave the gift of life was Melody, whom Mr Hanson has already mentioned today in his speech. Melody was in her early 20s, working as a curator at the National Gallery. Her whole life was ahead of her. She died travelling back home to Cowra on Christmas Eve. Her decision to become a donor saved the lives of three others.
Despite these two wonderful examples, only 309 donors gave organs in 2010. Because most of these donors gave multiple organs, 931 Australians were given life through these donations. I wonder, though, how many more donations could have taken place.
Australia is a leader in transplant technology and procedures and yet has one of the lowest donation rates in the world. Seventy-seven per cent of Australians are willing to become organ and tissue donors. Only 17 per cent of people, however, have actually discussed their views with their family. And in the event of families making
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