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The Australian and New Zealand Organ Donation Registry (ANZOD) and the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority have today released the 2009 calendar year organ donation figures.
The figures show organ donation in Australia has sustained the recent improvement in donation rates above the long-term average.
Chair of ANZOD Professor Graeme Russ said 247 generous organ donors have given a new chance at life for 799 Australians in 2009.
“The figures continue the momentum achieved in 2008 and are one of the highest since transplantation began in Australia more than 40 years ago,” Professor Russ said.
“The 2009 figure of 247 donors compares with an annual average of 205 since 2000 and equates to a national organ donor rate of 11.3 per million of population.
“South Australia is still leading the way in Australia with 20.3 donors per million, followed by the ACT (14.1 per million), Victoria (11.8 per million), Queensland (10.7 per million), New South Wales (10 per million), Tasmania (9.9 per million), Northern Territory (8.9 per million) and Western Australia (8.5 per million).
“The need for an increased organ donation rate is evidenced by the 1770 (1310 for kidney) patients waiting as at 4 January 2010. This compares with 1,716 at the start of 2009.”
The Organ and Tissue Authority Chief Executive Officer Karen Murphy said, “Australia’s current national family consent rate for organ donation to proceed is just 56%. Following the launch of the DonateLife™ national community education and awareness program in November last year, we are now empowering Australians to discover the facts, decide about donation and discuss their wishes with their family.”
Ms Murphy also noted that while actual donation rates would always fluctuate, based on circumstances that are particular to any given year, there is still work to be done to increase our organ donation rates.
“2009 was an extraordinary year with the combination of the Victorian bush fires and H1N1 (swine flu) providing particular challenges for the intensive care bed availability. All things considered, the 2009 organ donation outcome is a wonderful testament to the hard work of the dedicated staff in hospitals around the country,” she said.
Ms Murphy said the figures showed the importance of the DonateLife™ community education and awareness program and the newly formed DonateLife™ network.
Along with the awareness program, the DonateLife™ Network was launched in November 2009 as the cornerstone of the Australian Government’s four-year $151.1 million national reform agenda and is made up of more than 300 health professionals focused on organ and tissue donation nationally. The Australian Government reform program is designed to deliver significant outcomes over time.
“Our new specialist workforce of highly trained doctors and nurses is now in place, and will be working to ensure donation is a routine part of end-of-life patient care and that every potential donor is identified and their families asked about donation in a sensitive and respectful way,” Ms Murphy said.
“Families need to know each other’s wishes about organ and tissue donation because, even if you are registered as a donor, your next of kin is still asked to give consent for donation to take place.”
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Please note: For full 2009 ANZOD results visit: http://www.anzdata.org.au/anzod/v1/summary-org-donation.html
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