A parliamentary committee that held an inquiry into increasing the number of organ and tissue donors in Victoria released its official report this week, putting forward their findings and recommendations.
Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, deputy chair of the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee, spoke in Parliament earlier this week to discuss the report and thank all those who contributed.
“I want to thank everyone who entered submissions to the inquiry, and all those who spoke at our hearings,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Sharing your stories was integral to improving our understanding of the organ and tissue donation process, and I hope that it can lead to some real improvement in the number of donors, as well as the process itself.”
While Victoria’s organ donation rate is consistently above the national average and most people support donation (81 per cent), only 23 per cent of Victorians are registered to be donors.
Among young people these statistics are even lower, with just 10 per cent of people aged 16 to 25 having registered a donation decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register.
The report makes recommendations towards increasing the donation rate, including having the option of registering when renewing a drivers licence, increased promotion of the organ donor register, and increasing the number of organ and tissue donation specialists within healthcare services.
Ms Cleeland said there were several challenges within the system that prevented increased more lives being saved through donations and that it was imperative for the state government to adopt the recommendations put forward.
“There is a desperate need to adopt all of these recommendations to improve and save Victorian lives,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We’ve learnt that the barriers preventing organ and tissue donation extend much further than increasing the amount of registered people.
“There are so many logistical concerns, particularly in regional areas, such as increasing the amount of donor specialists and ensuring hospitals have suitable facilities to carry out a transplant.
“I encourage everyone to register to be an organ and tissue donor, have conversations about it with your friends and family members, and you can truly save lives.”
The full report can be found at: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/organtissuedonor-reports.
