Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am registered on the Australian Organ Donor Register, Australia’s only organ donor and tissue donor register and one that saves lives. It is the lifeline for many Australian people who are on organ donation waiting lists. I have produced a fact sheet which I hand out regularly at railway stations and community meetings, and I have certainly spoken on local radio encouraging my constituents, staff, family and friends to support this issue and to register, and, furthermore, to actually discuss this vital issue with their families.

I understand that presently there are almost 1,900 people at any one time on Australia’s organ donation waiting list. They are waiting for kidneys, hearts, livers, lungs and pancreases. Some of these people will die on this waiting list. Last year across Australia there were just 190 donors. Their organs saved more than 600 people. This year, up to May, there have been 102 donors, and their organs have saved almost 350 lives.

Currently in New South Wales we have only 21 donors and we desperately need more. But more locally, in my electorate, we have Debbie Roberts, whose daughter Rebecca sadly passed away at age 20. Rebecca had discussed with her mum the issue of organ donation and, as a result of Rebecca’s selfless donation, four people have been given the gift of life. Two people have received kidneys, and another two have received corneas. I do know that Debbie has received touching letters from grateful recipients of her daughter’s organs. Whilst they do not know the names of the people, for privacy reasons, the families of those recipients regard themselves as heavily indebted to Rebecca. This is a local family from the Campbelltown region. What we see this family doing is giving the greatest gift that one human being can give to another, and that is the gift of life.

The most recent international figures available show that Australia has one of the lowest donation records. It has been recognised overseas, particularly in the UK and the US, that public campaigns in the media and education about organ donation and the need for more organ donation actually work and lead to an increase in the numbers of eligible donors. That is why I have chosen this as a method to use in my electorate. Encouragingly, surveys indicate widespread support. As a matter of fact, 90 per cent of Australians favour organ donation. That is why this campaign takes on added relevance. We must transform these high levels of support into people becoming potential donors.

Since the establishment of the Australian Organ Donor Register, it has been effective in increasing the rates of people donating and consenting to donate. This is a campaign we all should get behind, as members of parliament, as people who are concerned about their communities. This is something that needs to be established across the board. (Time expired)