A report from the Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA) has revealed that despite the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, about 4,000 Australians benefitted from the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donation from a deceased donor.
Minister responsible for the Authority, Mark Coulton said its 2020 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report confirmed Australians’ generosity and willingness to give complete strangers a second chance through organ and tissue donation.
“This report shows that even when the chips are down and a global pandemic interrupts the national transplant program, Australian generosity shines through,” Mr Coulton said.
“Last year, despite the pandemic, some 1,644 Australians’ death provided the gift of life and sight to another Australian,” he said.
“We are very grateful to these Australians and their families for making organ, eye, and tissue donations possible.”
Mr Coulton said the Report showed 1,270 lives were saved through an organ transplant due to the generosity of 463 deceased organ donors and their families.
The Minister said 2,277 people received corneal transplants from 1,318 donors.
“A corneal transplant can make a remarkable difference to someone’s quality of life,” he said.
“More than 23,500 Australians have thankfully received the gift of sight since the national program began in 2009.”
Mr Coulton said the Report also demonstrated the need for more people to discuss donation with their friends and family and to register as donors.
Chief Executive of the Organ and Tissue Authority, Lucinda Barry said only 29 kidney transplants from living donors took place in Australia through the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program, which represented a 42 per cent drop compared to 2019.
Ms Barry said the 2020 outcomes were primarily impacted by the program’s suspension due to COVID-19 concerns in early-March, but the program had gradually returned in earnest since September.
“The reality is there were 210 fewer kidney transplants across living and deceased transplant programs, mostly due to the impact of transplant program suspensions,” Ms Barry said.
The Authority’s 15-page 2020 Activity Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
