Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The incorporated speech read as follows—

I rise to speak on the Australian Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Bill 2008.

The bill establishes the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority to provide national leadership to the organ and tissue sector and also to drive, implement and monitor national reform initiatives and programs aimed at increasing Australians’ access to life-saving and transforming transplants.

Around 100 people die each year in Australia while waiting for an organ transplant and over the past ten years the organ donor rate has remained static – approximately 10 donors per million population.

Western Australia had 19 organ donors in 2007, which helped make up the total of 198 organ donations across the nation.

Whilst these 198 donations each year are important and commendable, Australia has one of the lowest organ donor rates amongst developed countries and only half of families consent to the donation of their deceased family member’s organs.

Organ and transplant donation is a profoundly generous act on the part of an individual or family, which can transform the lives of people on the transplant waiting list.

It is the Government’s intent that this bill will contribute to a much higher rate of organ and tissue donation in Australia.

More than 30,000 Australians have received transplants in the last 60 years and with a co-ordinated central body we can substantially increase this number into the future.

The measures enabled by the bill have a total cost of $151.1 million over four years, including new funding of $136.4 million over four years, to introduce a new nationally-consistent, coordinated system of organ and tissue donation for transplantation.

$24.4 million over the course of four years has been allocated to establish and operate the Authority to drive, coordinate and fund national initiatives to improve the donation rate.

The Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority, will be managed by a Chief Executive Officer with direct accountability to the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing.

This CEO will be advised by the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Advisory Council that will comprise of a Chair plus up to 15 members who will have relevant expertise in managing organ and tissue donation and related issues.

The Authority will spearhead the Government’s initiative to achieve a significant and lasting increase in the number of transplants for Australians.

I have been a registered organ donor for a number of years and I sincerely hope that many of my colleagues in this place, and the other place are as well.

If not, I strongly encourage you to contact the Australian Organ Donor Register on 1800 777 203 or through the Medicare Australia website to become one of the 1.1 million Australians who have already registered their legally valid consent or objection to organ and tissue donation.

By registering their details and consent, Australians can make a difference.

This is something that should be on the radar of every Australian.

No one is forced into it, but everyone should be aware of it.

Unfortunately, public awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation is not the best.

This bill will establish an authority whose role it will be to educate and promote organ and tissue donation throughout Australia.

For people with life-threatening or serious illnesses, organ or tissue transplantation may mean a second chance at life, or an improved quality of life.

One organ or tissue donor may save or enhance the lives of up to 30 people.

In my home state, there are almost 650,000 Western Australians registered for organ and tissue donation, but there is always more to be done.

This figure represents 41% of the WA population over the age of 16 years having registered to donate their organs, but again there is more to be done.

The Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority will improve on these figures and ensure the message about organ and tissue donation reaches a much wider audience.

There is evidence available from WA to prove that a centralised administration and increased marketing can improve awareness of and registrations for organ and tissue donation.

A recent marketing campaign by DonateWest, a Health Department initiative of the previous Labor state government, entitled “Don’t Waste Your Wish”, aimed at increasing registrations, was launched in February 2008 and ran for 3 weeks, including during the Australian Organ Donor Awareness Week.

The campaign comprised a TV commercial in conjunction with advertising in the state newspaper throughout the 3 week period.

Registrations jumped from an average 880 per month to 1,641 in February, Inquiry calls increased from an average of 294 per month to 691 calls in February alone.

Website hits to www.dontwasteyourwish.org and the DonateWest website increased from an average 471 visitors a month to 1,839 visitors.

Australia’s organ donation rate lags behind those of many other developed nations.

Leading nations have well resourced national systems to coordinate organ donation.

To do this well will take money, and the Rudd Labor Government is determined to invest this money and improve our organ and tissue donation rates.

Subject to passage of the legislation, the Authority is proposed to commence on 1 January 2009.

The budget for the Authority and other reform initiatives has been allocated to align with this commencement date.

As the Authority will be responsible for implementing the other measures of the reform package, it is essential that the Authority is established by this date.

The organ donation rate could be dramatically improved if more people discussed their wishes with their family and registered their decision on the Australian Organ Donor Registry.

A 2006 Australians Donate survey showed that although 94 percent of Australians support organ and tissue donation for transplantation, one-in-four Australians have not made their wishes known about organ and tissue donation to anyone.

While Australians have overwhelming indicated that they are in favour of organ and tissue transplantation, for many years this has not been translated into an increased donor rate.

Clearly the current system of organ donor advocacy and registration is not as effective as it needs to be.

At the current time, only approx one quarter of Australians over the age of 16, have registered their intent to be an organ donor.

For Australia’s rate of organ donations to increase to a level that occurs in a number of other developed countries Australia should be aiming for a majority of people being registered as organ donors.

With the current system, only 20% of those who have registered on the organ donor registry have provided a legally valid consent for organ donation.

It’s important that people who are registered as organ donors make that fact known to their close family.

Current experience is that too often families are not aware that the person concerned has not registered as an organ donor.

Too often families are not are that the person concerned has registered as an organ donor.

In approximately of instances families decline to agree to organ donation despite the wishes of the person concerned.

Since January 2005, the Australian Organ Donor Registry has been a register of legal consent and is the only official national register for organ and tissue donation.

There are currently approximately 2,000 people on transplant waiting lists around Australia and as I have mentioned around one hundreds Australians die each year while waiting for an organ transplant.

Waiting periods on the wait list for transplants for some people can last for more than 15 years and drastically reduces those peoples’ quality of life.

Statistics show that you are more likely to need a transplant than to ever become an organ donor, and whilst organ donation is the choice of individuals, you can’t take your organs with you.

Surely, if we help improve one extra life through sight improvement or kidney transplant, it is worth it.

I commend the bill to the Senate and urge fellow senators to support it.