Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Organ and tissue donation

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (22:43): (1224) My adjournment is to the Minister for Health. In March this year the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee released their report about increasing the number of organ and tissue donors in Victoria. The report makes recommendations to increase the donation rate, including the option of registering as an organ donor when renewing a drivers licence; increase promotion of the organ donor register; and increase the number of organ and tissue donation specialists within healthcare services. The inquiry also highlighted some of the additional barriers preventing organ and tissue donation, especially in regional areas, and the need to increase the amount of donor specialists and ensure that hospitals have suitable facilities to carry out a transplant.

I would also like to acknowledge my Nationals colleague Dr Anne Webster, who has advocated for change at the federal level to help lift organ donation rates, encouraging all states to clearly record donor status on drivers licences. Currently South Australia are the only state to have registration linked to drivers licences; they have 73 per cent of their population aged 16 and over registered on the Australian Organ Donor Register and consistently have one of the highest consent and donation rates in Australia. In New South Wales 41 per cent are registered, and Victoria is well below that at just 23 per cent. There are currently around 1800 Australians on a waitlist for organ transplant and around 14,000 more people on dialysis, many who would benefit from a kidney transplant. I have known people who have been waiting for years on dialysis, but I also know someone who has benefited from an organ transplant. It has been eight months since the committee’s report was tabled, and I ask the minister to take action, to adopt the recommendations of the committee report and to enable donor registration through drivers licences. It will help save lives and give hope to those waiting for an organ transplant.