Page 486 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 21 February 2012
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DonateLife. Hopefully we can encourage people to register as organ donors and to speak to their families about their decision to do so.
Indeed, I had that conversation with my wife the other day as we were talking about my diary. I can confirm that if I am to die in an untimely fashion then I gladly would give my organs so that someone else can enjoy a more fruitful life. There it is. It is in Hansard if someone needs it.
This bill today, although largely technical, is an important step in streamlining the process of organ and tissue donation. The intention of the first amendment in this bill is to increase the number of designated officers who can authorise the removal of organs and tissues from the body of a deceased person. The amendment allows a greater number of health professionals to hold the responsibility of this important task. It will hopefully increase the availability and accessibility of designated officers within the donation process.
The second amendment will allow authorised retrievalists to retrieve all tissue, not just eye tissue, for the purpose of corneal transplantation. In the Canberra Times today we see the story of Frank Villegas, who is the recipient of a successful corneal transplant in his left eye. He is quoted in the paper as saying, “You feel incredibly humbled by someone donating tissue.” I think this sentiment is shared by all of those fortunate enough to be a recipient.
Calvary hospital began their corneal transplant program 12 months ago, but have chosen this week to officially launch the program to coincide with DonateLife Week. The success rate in donations puts Australia amongst the top five in the world. In 2008, 1,096 people donated corneas, giving 1,696 people the gift of sight. Australia has amongst the highest survival rates for transplant recipients. This success rate is growing every day.
I take this opportunity to congratulate Dr Salim Okera, the head of the program at Calvary hospital, and his staff on the fantastic work that they carry out. The Canberra Times today also states that 55 Australians benefited from eye tissue donations from ACT residents and their families, which is an extraordinary figure. We should be proud of this and work hard to continue its growth.
The amendments contained in this bill today are not isolated to the ACT. They are part of the national reform package titled “A world’s best practice approach to organ and tissue donation for transplantation”. This package aims to coordinate eye and tissue donation, retrieval, processing and storage. The importance of facilitating donation across Australia has been recognised.
It is important in the ACT that we continue to contribute to increasing the rates of organ and tissue donation. Importantly, the legislation we are passing today is consistent with the New South Wales Human Tissue Act 1983, which is important given the high level of cross-border activity that we share. Of course, this legislation is redundant if Australians do not take the time to register as organ donors and then speak to their families about this decision. In Australia 79 per cent of people are registered as organ donors and 76 per cent are tissue donors.
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