The Organ and Tissue Authority is to be centre of attention for the next week as the 10th DonateLife Week (25 July to 1 August) is launched with the nation encouraged to take one minute out of their day to help save lives.
Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, David Gillespie called on Australians to take just one minute to join The Great Registration Race for DonateLife Week and register as organ and tissue donors.
“There are around 13 million Australians aged 16+ who are eligible to register as organ and tissue donors, but haven’t,” Dr Gillespie said.
“We know most Australians actually support organ and tissue donation, in fact, a recent poll of 60,000 Australians showed four out of five say they’d be willing to donate their organs when they die,” he said.
“So the problem isn’t that Australians are against organ and tissue donation – it’s that they’re not sure if they’re eligible to register, don’t know how to or simply haven’t got around to it.”
Dr Gillespie said that last year saw a 12 per cent reduction in the number of people receiving a transplant; a 16 per cent decrease in organ donors; and a 16 per cent drop in registrations due to the impact of COVID-19.
The Minister said the demand for donors had never been greater with around 1,800 Australians on the organ transplant waitlist, including almost 40 children and teens.
He said any Australian aged 16 years and over could sign up online and it did not matter how old they were, their medical history, their lifestyle, what country they were from, or how healthy they were.
“Don’t rule yourself out even if you think you’ve lived an unhealthy life or have suffered illness; let doctors make that decision if the time comes,” he said.
“Even if you are unable to donate your organs, you could still transform the lives of others by donating tissue, such as bone, skin or corneas which could help someone suffering burns, significant sporting injuries or facing blindness.”
Dr Gillespie said the Week aimed to see up to 100,000 more people registered as donors to help save and transform lives.
Further information on registering as an organ donor can be accessed at this PS News link.
