Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the member for Capricornia on bringing this motion to the House. It is a very important motion and one that all Australians should be aware of. The key fact for everybody to remember is that organ donation saves lives. Without organ donation many people would have lost their lives.

If one person donates their organs and tissues after their death, they are in a position to donate a heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and pancreas as well as corneas, skin, bone and heart valves. This is an enormous contribution that can be made to people’s lives. In 2004, there were 218 organ donors. From those 218 organ donors, 782 people received transplants. In 2003, there were 179 organ donors and 619 people received transplants. It is quite obvious that if one person says that they are prepared to donate their organs and tissues after their death they can have an enormous impact.

It has already been mentioned that in Australia we have a fairly low rate of people who have indicated that they are prepared to be donors. The figure is 11 donors per million population, which is one of the lowest in the developed world. Compare that with Spain, where the figure is 34 donors per million population. Spain is the benchmark; it is the country that has the highest number of donors per million population. The figure is 21.5 donors per million population in the US and 12.9 in the UK. That was in 2002.

I call on Australians to join with many of us here in the parliament who have registered as organ donors. It is quite easy to do. The Australian Organ Donor Register is administered by Medicare. You can get a form similar to the one I have here in my hand—‘Sign on to save lives’—from your local Medicare office. Remember what I have said about the enormous impact that it can make on people’s lives.

I have a constituent, Keith Galdino, who has had a liver transplant. When I asked him what his transplant meant to him, he told me it had given him a new life. He received his liver in 1994. He would have had one week before his condition became terminal. He got a phone call at 7.40 on a Thursday night. The ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and he was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He was on the operating table at 3 pm the next day and he had a 17½-hour operation. He was in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for six weeks after the operation. Then he went to Queen Mary’s Hospital for another six weeks. He returned home after three months.

Since he has had the transplant Keith has been involved in the World Transplant Games. He has been very successful at that level. He has won eight international medals and many national medals. He is going to be competing in the games in Geelong later this year. He is the member protection information officer for Transplant Australia in New South Wales.

I asked Keith what message he would like to give to this parliament and the Australian people. His words were: ‘Don’t bury or burn your organs. Donate them.’ That is a very important message for all Australians. Don’t bury or burn your organs; donate them because you can save many lives by doing this. Mr Galdino is a man who has made a considerable contribution to his community since he has had his transplant. His contribution would be reflected time and again by other people who receive transplants. (Time expired)

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