Donate an organ, save a life

If you had the chance to give an ill person the gift of good health, would you? According to Australian Medical Association president, Steve Hambleton, people do not realise “almost everybody has something another person can benefit from”.

Dr Hambleton told DPS eNews yesterday (Thursday, 25 August 2011), there is no time like the present to become an organ donor; encouraging older Australians to also take the opportunity to give another person a second chance at life. His call comes after reports surfaced, indicating poor numbers of organ donors in Australia; particularly in New South Wales.

“It is always worthwhile signing up [to become a donor],” Dr Hambleton says.

He says “it is not out of the question” for elderly people to become live organ donors, although keeping fit and healthy is important as the surgery, while seen as a selfless act, can sometimes be taxing on the body.

Australia’s organ donation capital is Victoria, where there are 58.1 transplants per million people.

While there is a system for giving organs between states it only applies in some cases, so people living in states with lower donation rates miss out, Bruce Pussell, a transplant physician professor of Medicine at the University of NSW, says.

He says NSW residents should be “very disappointed” with their transplant rates, blaming the federal Organ and Tissue Authority, established in 2008 by the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, as part of a $136 million plan to boost donation rates.

“We are still doing what we have been doing for 20 years which is putting a lot of money into it without seeing much improvement,” says Professor Pussell, who is also a ShareLife spokesman.

The only state which has d previously implemented a world class organ donation system is South Australia, which has seen a 22% decrease in its donation rates since 2008.

But a spokesman for the Organ and Tissue Authority says Australia’s national donation rate has increased by 13% during the last 12 months. By June this year there had been 168 organ donors, compared to 149 at the same time last year.

“Implementing a clinical reform agenda in organ and tissue donation takes time,” the Organ and Tissue Authority spokesperson says. “Spain took 10 years to implement its national reform agenda and to build up to its present donation rates.”

In Australia, an organ donor can donate their heart, lungs, kidney, liver and pancreas; whereas tissue donors can give their eye, heart, musculoskeletal and skin tissue.

When contacted by DPS eNews, the Australian Organ Donor Register said an increasing number of older Australians donate eye tissue. In Australia, donated corneas provide about 1,700 corneal transplants each year, of which more than 90% remain successful and provide long-term sight.

The cornea is the clear window covering the front of the eye; allowing light to pass through to the retina and restoring sight to people who are partially or completely blind.

The procedure does not alter the appearance of the donor, and the corneas are removed and kept at one of Australia’s five eye banks and must be used within a week. However, recipients are easily found as they do not need to be matched by blood or tissue type or age.

Dr Hambleton encourages people who are considering becoming a donor, regardless of age, to communicate with their families so they are aware of their loved ones wishes.

“Anyone can become a donor, no matter what age. Everybody should have an advanced health directive plan. It’s a very difficult topic, but it’s important we communicate to our loved ones the benefits of organ donation,” he says.

“We can save lives and bring some comfort to a suffering person and their family. There is a sense of purpose to know someone else is going to benefit. There is some meaning in that,” he says.

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