Organ Donation

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:30): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises DonateLife Week from 29 July to 5 August;

(b) recognises the importance of organ donation;

(c) encourages families to discuss the importance of organ donation and to register their decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register;

(d) encourages the state government to support a comprehensive publicity and education program focusing on both the general public and healthcare professionals; and

(e) urges the state government to investigate the effectiveness of opt-out legislation for organ donation.

This week is DonateLife Week across Australia, a time when events are held to increase public awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation. In Adelaide this week, donor families and heart, lung, kidney and cornea recipients joined at the Adelaide Oval roof climb, and there will also be public displays at Flinders Medical Centre, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Adelaide Central Market and sporting events.

In South Australia, DonateLife SA coordinates all organ and tissue donor activity across the state and works with hospital, medical and nursing specialists to provide professional donation services and encourage best practice to increase donation rates. In recognition of this important week, I want to tell you about the stories of two Mount Gambier people whose lives are at opposite ends of the organ donation journey: Adam Dixon and Kimberley Telford.

In January 2014, Adam had just finished year 12, was looking forward to starting his engineering degree at Flinders University and was living life as only an 18 year old can. Adam was holidaying with his friends on Kangaroo Island when he was critically injured in a car crash. He was helicoptered to Flinders Medical Centre, where he was put on life support, but sadly his life was gone.

Just a week before the accident, in a casual conversation with his parents, Matthew and Fiona, Adam told them he had registered to become an organ donor. That night in hospital, Adam's decision randomly changed the lives of five people he would never meet. His lungs, kidney, liver and pancreas were donated to five people out of the roughly 1,400 Australians on the waitlist to receive transplants.

Every year, Fiona checks in with the donor coordinator to see how the five recipients are doing. Fiona says that donating Adam's organs is the bright light out of a terrible situation. 'It is a pretty powerful thing to be able to say yes to,' she says. 'Adam touched a lot of lives.' In the years since Adam's death, Matthew and Fiona have worked incredibly hard to increase awareness of organ donation. There is no doubt that stories like Adam's resonate with the public, but both Matthew and Fiona believe more awareness and education are needed to boost organ donation rates.

The 2017 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report showed that just 32 South Australians became organ donors last year, compared with 40 the year before. This figure is despite South Australia having the highest rate of participation nationally on the Australian Organ Donor Register, with more than 68 per cent of adults registered. We already have world-class research and development going on in South Australia in this area. The Royal Adelaide Hospital will soon be one of just three in Australia offering kidney/pancreas transplants. The Dixons have helped fundraise tens of thousands of dollars in Adam's memory to support pioneering research into the preservation of organs before transplant.

We should also investigate the merits of introducing opt-out legislation, an approach which Matthew and Fiona Dixon support. This approach effectively turns every South Australian into a potential organ donor, unless they officially register to opt out. Countries that have embraced the opt-out approach to organ donation include France, Spain, Austria, Belgium and Singapore. Although some opt-out countries are reporting higher organ donation results as a result of the law change, this approach can also be impacted by differing cultural and religious beliefs. I believe there is an opportunity to have a wider debate on this subject and consult South Australians on their views.

However, there is something all of us can do today to help boost organ donation, and that is to spend five minutes signing up to the Organ Donor Register. Anyone over the age of 16 can do this and officially make your intentions clear about what organs and tissues you do and do not want to donate. Many people still believe that little tick on your licence is all it takes to become an organ donor, but it is still important to put your decision on the register. This way medical personnel around Australia can see around the clock that you are an organ donor. Transplants happen quickly, so this is vital. Also, talk to your family about your decision. It is a conversation we all ignore, but it is one we all need to have.

Why do we need to have this conversation when we are already on the register? Because your next of kin have the final say on donation, and research shows that they are 90 per cent more likely to follow your wishes if they already know about them. This figure drops to about 52 per cent where the deceased was not registered and the family had no prior knowledge of their decision. It is a fact that less than 2 per cent of people who die in hospital will be able to donate their organs, so it is a game of odds and circumstance where all the factors have to match up perfectly to result in a successful donation and transplant procedure. That means we need a large number of people simply to register to increase those odds. Introducing an opt-out policy will mean we will have a much larger pool of potential donors.

As Matthew Dixon says, 'You don't ever have the conversation thinking it will happen.' Introducing opt-out legislation would mean that the onus is on those who feel strongly against organ donation, rather than those who simply have not had the conversation yet. The conversation about organ donation should be had with family and loved ones before it is required, not at the time of immense stress and heartache.

The importance of organ donation is recognised in the thousands of people around Australia whose lives have been changed for the better. Right now, Mount Gambier mother Kimberley Telford is one of the many Australians on the list awaiting a call that will change her life. Kimberley is 43, a similar age to mine, and undergoes 10 hours of dialysis each night because of renal failure due to diabetes. She plans her day around her dialysis. She has good weeks and bad weeks. On a recent family trip to the Grampians, Kimberley was able to walk only 50 metres from the car until she got tired and had to return.

Soon Kimberley is expected to be the Royal Adelaide Hospital's first kidney/pancreas transplant recipient. Her husband, Brenton, told me their teenage sons have never known their mother without diabetes. Brenton believes opt-out legislation would have major benefits for the current organ donation system. In fact, it is Brenton's continual conversations with me that have raised the awareness with me and brought this notice of motion to the house today. The current benefits will significantly decrease waiting times resulting in fewer health complications for patients and, in turn, less impact on the health system.

In effect, the opt-out approach would save taxpayers money. Brenton said, 'I don't believe in taking them with you. Give someone else a second chance.' These are important words from someone who understands the organ donation journey. This week, I encourage all South Australians to hear the stories of Adam and Kimberley, make their decisions clear on the Australian Organ Donor Register and talk about it with family, friends and loved ones. Kimberley's life and the lives of other South Australians depend on it. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (11:40): I concur with the motion as per the Notice Paper with the exception of paragraphs (d) and (e). I move to slightly amend the motion as follows:

Delete all words in paragraphs (d) and (e) and substitute:

(d) encourages the state government to support ongoing comprehensive publicity and education focusing on both the general public and healthcare professionals; and

(e) urges the state government to investigate opportunities to increase organ donation, including opt-out legislation.

As I indicated, I concur with the vast bulk and certainly the sentiment of the motion put to us by the member for Mount Gambier. I welcome the recognition of DonateLife Week, which is underway from 29 July through to 5 August. The week aims to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation. It encourages all Australians to register their donation decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register and, in addition, to discuss their donation decisions with their loved ones—an important point, as I will further detail.

We should all acknowledge that it goes without saying that donation of both organs and tissue for transplants saves lives and improves the lives of Australians. As part and parcel of this motion, we should thank and acknowledge the generosity of all Australians who donate, or indicate an intention to donate, their organs and tissue, given the impact not just on the recipients but on the families of the recipients. As the member for Mount Gambier has pointed out, these decisions have a momentous impact not just on the recipients and their families but also indirectly on the families of those who have been a party to their loved ones being donors.

Organ donation is, in fact, a rare event. Between 1 and 2 per cent of people who die in hospitals die in the specific circumstances required to be potential organ donors. As the member for Mount Gambier has pointed out, South Australia has the highest national registration rate on the Australian Organ Donor Register, at just over 68 per cent. The achievement of this rate is attributed to South Australia recording a person's intention to become an organ donor on their South Australian driver's licence. It is a proactive measure that we in this state have undertaken for some time now, which is one of the reasons for us having the highest national registration rate at this juncture.

Additionally, South Australia is the only jurisdiction to have retained this process in conjunction with the Australian Organ Donor Register. We have ongoing improvements in systems facilitating organ donation. One of those improvements is a move to notify DonateLife of all deaths in hospitals and to have 100 per cent of organ donation conversations with families be led by health professionals with specific training.

South Australia is a participant in research to better understand why potential donor families say no to the offer of donation. These initiatives are aimed at improving processes and are expected to increase donation rates over time. The point I make is that we need to keep trying to improve organ and tissue donation, and consent models need to be part and parcel of that consideration. This process does need to be done carefully in conjunction with other jurisdictions.

Australia's current informed consent model, the so-called opt-in model, means individuals may record their intent to donate their organs and tissues on the Australian Organ Donor Register. The informed consent model used in Australia is an ethical and transparent approach that balances the need for organ and tissue donors with the right of Australians to make an informed choice. The Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, in partnership with state and territory governments, has carefully considered and will continue to consider consent model options.

I am informed that investigations at this point have concluded that there is no clear evidence that an opt-out model would contribute to achieving higher donation rates. Five separate independent reviews have been undertaken in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, and all have decided against changing the consent framework and have agreed to retain the opt-in model.

In Australia, research has shown that documented legal consent and family knowledge of wishes are key drivers for an increase in donations, together with the scope and quality of the conversation held with potential donors. The current informed consent model used in Australia is an ethical and transparent approach that balances the need for organ tissue donors with the right of Australians to make an informed choice.

Having made that point, I will conclude by again commending the member for Mount Gambier for his motion. I make the point that the substance of his motion is not just commendable but also understandable in the circumstances. I am satisfied on the basis of the evidence provided to me that our current consent model is sufficient and adequately traverses the minefield that, by necessity, we have to traverse in these sorts of circumstances: the wishes of the deceased and their families, weighed up against the potential to vastly improve the lives of not just potential recipients but also their families and loved ones. In closing, I commend the amended motion to the house.

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (11:47): It gives me great pleasure to support the member for Mount Gambier's motion and also the amendments made by the member for Davenport. I am honoured to recognise DonateLife Week between 29 July and 5 August, which raises awareness for a register through which people can participate in organ donation. It highlights the fact that I am a donor and have participated in this process by ticking the box on the licence, but I may not have gone far enough to register as a donor. I am not sure whether I have done the wrong or right thing, but as a member I will make sure that I do the right thing, and for my family as well because we have had discussions that we wish to participate in organ donation for a number of reasons, which I will talk about and highlight in a second.

There is nothing more important than a society that works together. We are not all as fortunate as some, and we are not all given a gift of cards that unravel in a way that we can live healthy lives. The donation principle goes to the heart of a society. It is wonderful to see that, as a state, we have the highest participation rate in organ donation. I hope we can do better with a government policy that respects the difficult nature of this discussion, and the opportunities that are still out there, despite our state having the highest organ donation participation rate in Australia.

Donations made by individuals, normally in unlucky and unforeseen circumstances, give an opportunity to others who are in a situation where life is not as grand or easy as most of us come to appreciate. The donation principle highlights the two aspects of this. One is that we have community citizens who come to the end for a number of reasons, and the opportunity then lies with the ability to give and gift a part of anyone's anatomy to help those who do not have a quality of life and could be improved with the development of technology and a greater health aspect.

The reason that we have discussed this as a family is that I have a son who is a type 1 diabetic, and it is an ongoing issue, as it is for many diabetics in our society, and it is one of those that will never go away. It is due to the collapse of his pancreas at the age of 7 that he is a type 1 diabetic. I note that Adelaide is now participating in the transplant of pancreases. While I recognise that that procedure is still in its infancy, not only for South Australia to take up but also as a development in Australian health accolades, I do know that the diabetics taking this option have to be in a great deal of strife with the management of their sugar, and so forth, because their rejection drugs and those sorts of consequences can be quite onerous with a transplant like this taking place.

However, as we know, technologies get better. We know that the drugs get better. We know that as we progress and we develop these donations and the gift of giving organs, and so forth, right across the board we will become more expert at it, the drugs will be better, the operations will be smaller and the success rate will be higher.

One of the points that was made was that this whole idea of donating organs is a rare event in itself, with the 1 or 2 per cent who die in a hospital being able to then go on and donate organs to those in need. It tells you that a lot of things have to stack up and be in line for an organ transplant to take place, where the organ is absolutely available, in absolute pristine condition and the right mix and match to those who are close to the Organ Donation Register.

Coming back to what we can do as a government, we can recognise that we have a section of the community that suffers from a number of health consequences, maybe not as a consequence of their own lifestyle but because of something they could be born with, just as I believe my son was, when at the age of seven something comes along and kills off the pancreas. Other people can suffer everything from kidney disease, a bad heart and the like.

When the healthiest of us fall on unforeseen circumstances, be it an accident, be it a health issue that takes it, there is nothing worse and good—there are two elements to this. No-one wants to forfeit their life early, but those who are affected, obviously all those close to those individuals, have the opportunity to see that that individual in passing can help a number of lives live to their full potential.

Although I think that the whole aspect of donation can be quite a difficult discussion to take place, if you look beyond that and at the unforeseen circumstances that can or could arise, with something really positive coming out of it, I know and we know as a society those stories of individuals, recognising that one individual was able to help those who were the organ recipients of that one loss, for whatever reason.

There are a couple of highlights I would mention. The member for Mount Gambier has given a couple of local examples, and I mention the highlight of a very well-to-do man, the late Kerry Packer, who required dialysis and needed a kidney. Of all the chances, his helicopter pilot was a match and wanted to donate a kidney to give Kerry Packer a quality of life at the end, which in reality was not that long, but no-one is to know that when it is done. They are the sorts of transplants that can take place on a voluntary basis to the next transplant to those who are beyond help, beyond saving, and it is known that they are going to see the end, and any organ of any value can be taken from them to help those less fortunate.

As we know, we have technologies in place. With diabetes, we have injections and you inject yourself with insulin to compensate for the lack of pancreatic behaviour. There are kidney dialysis machines. There are machines that can operate your heart when you do not have a heart, in other words, to pump the blood around the system. There are those mechanical means, but they provide an absolutely poorer standard of life than the natural organ can for a human. This is why I think it is so important that the government does all it can to highlight the opportunities that are given to every one of us who has a healthy lifestyle to be able to help those less fortunate. I congratulate the member for Mount Gambier on bringing this motion, which I also support.

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (11:55): I have the privilege to speak to the motion brought to the house by the member for Mount Gambier. I will not repeat the motion, but I indicate that we the opposition will be supporting both the original motion and the amendment made by the government, I believe with the blessing of the member for Mount Gambier.

The support of organ donation is one of those wonderful aspects of politics that the vast majority of us here in this place absolutely 100 per cent agree on. Today, obviously, is no different. While numbers vary every year, around 1,500 Aussies, give or take, are waiting for organ transplants. Many people get to a point in their disease where they are very unwell by the time they receive their transplant, and far too many people die while waiting.

One organ donor can save or significantly improve up to 10 lives and improve the lives of those people around the recipient. While to many of us it is a no-brainer and a simple decision, it is not a simple decision for everybody, especially if those people do not understand. If the conversation has not happened before the accident or the tragedy, it makes it extremely difficult at that time for a family to make a decision.

It is an extraordinary thing to understand that your child, partner, parent, sibling or dear friend is not going to wake up and breathe by themselves. It is extraordinary to try to comprehend that they look like they did the day before—they are warm and you can see the lines on the monitors moving as they are supposed to, the things that go beep are going beep and your loved one's chest is going up and down—but they are not alive, or not alive as we know life to be.

We are so lucky that there are wonderful doctors, nurses and allied health team members who do understand. They understand how difficult this is. They not only understand but they are armed with answers. Great education goes on in our hospitals for the teams involved in organ donor care. Do not get me wrong, there is always more that can be done. Often this costs money and takes time, so the member for Mount Gambier's call for that investment is being supported and heeded, I believe, by everybody in this house. I also acknowledge that there has been an increase in funding from the federal government into this great program that has been improving year upon year.

It is such a privilege to be part of the time in people's lives when they are going in for organ donation. The time caring for people who are donors is a true privilege. As a clinician, I can remember every person I ever looked after who gave their organ. I remember their names, I remember their stories and, most of all, I remember their families. They are people you do not forget, and every single one of them has a powerful story and a loving story.

Sudden brain death is a crazy concept to try to fathom. It is almost impossible to comprehend how your loved one is displaying all the signs of life but really is not truly alive. I remember having the conversation with family members just like it was yesterday. All those conversations are cemented in my mind—it is a really powerful experience.

Family members often implore you to change what you are saying. They beg you to say, 'This isn't right what you just said. Please change. Please tell me it's not true. Please tell me something else.' They want you to confirm that there has been some sort of mistake. It is a really tough conversation to have, and I think that is why all clinicians who have had that conversation at the bedside remember it.

I can honestly say that, even having been an intensive care nurse for many years, I still wanted clinicians to change what they were saying to us as a family. We had the conversation before our son passed away. He asked me about putting his name down as an organ donor on his driver's licence. I told him to look after his organs and not to thrash them because then they would be a lot more useful. He was a good kid. He exercised and was super fit. I know that there is a young child—now not so young, probably a teenager—running around with his valve in his heart who probably kills chicken parmi's every night.

There are other families who would have benefited from our son's organs, and it is a true relief to know that. But if I had trouble, as an intensive care nurse, knowing full well what my son wanted, imagine how hard it must be to make the decision if it is something you have just never imagined possible. The importance of the conversation and registering intent can be seen in donor rates. Ninety per cent of families agree to the donation if their loved one is registered and they have had that conversation. It is less than half if the loved one is not registered.

So please have that conversation with your loved ones. Make your wishes known because then the science and the reality become so much easier. It comes back to the simple fact that your loved one would have wanted it. They made it clear. Do not forget as well, as pointed out just previously, that live donors and intended donors are so important. At every DonateLife function I have been to they are heartily acknowledged and welcomed.

Sometimes it becomes impossible for somebody to donate their organs, but if they were an intended organ donor they will be thanked and their family will be acknowledged, so please make your intentions known. DonateLife Week, from Sunday 29 July to Sunday 5 August, is a great time to have that conversation and to encourage others. That brings me to the last part of the motion: the call for the investigation for opt-out legislation.

Again, I know that we are supporting an investigation of this, but I want to make a few points of caution around opt-out legislation. We do not want to ruin or go backwards in what we have achieved in Australia. We are generous and we do well with donation rates. As acknowledged in the amendments, we want to improve those donation rates. There is no evidence here in Australia or internationally that an opt-out system actually improves outcomes or numbers. In fact, in many jurisdictions the opt-out model still insists that there is a consent, so it is a combination approach.

The evidence currently shows that our method, which focuses on that consistent and coordinated approach, is benchmark. It is a model that requires the focus and the education of highly qualified, highly trained nurses, doctors and other clinicians in the hospital system and in the community. I am great friends with many of the team here in South Australia and I thank them for the brilliant work they do. They do an amazing job.

What we have seen in previous years is more than a doubling of the donor rate and about a 75 per cent increase in the transplantation rate since the program was refreshed in 2009 by the then federal Labor government. We need to improve consent rates and improve registration rates. We will do that by awareness and education and an investigation using a bipartisan approach in parliament. Getting the support of media and getting support and input from our communities is one of those magnificent ways we can improve donation rates.

As members of parliament, we can and do play a role. Thank you so much to the member Mount Gambier for bringing a motion to the house that I am deeply connected with and so grateful for. If the member for Mount Gambier would like to do anything at all in Mount Gambier to raise the awareness and importance of the deep value of organ donation, my offer to fund that myself and come down to spend time in Mount Gambier to do that is on the table. I would be deeply privileged to be able to do that with you because it is so important. I know people in the South-East who have benefited. I commend the motion and the amendments to the house.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (12:05): I will say a few words about this incredibly important issue, and I, too, commend the member for Mount Gambier for bringing it to the house. Many of us have been touched by this issue through either family members who have donated through tragic circumstances or members of our family who might require an organ donation.

In my case, it was one of those things that will always remain with me through the experience of a member of our extended family. We were all called down to the RAH. She was a young, vibrant woman who had much of her life still to live. Unfortunately, she contracted a run-of-the-mill virus and, as a result of that virus, ended up with cardiomyopathy. She lived with that for a few years and then developed pulmonary hypertension. Eventually, her life drew to a close.

The extended family were all there at the RAH as we watched them progressively turn off the machines that were keeping her alive. She was on the list for, ultimately, a heart-lung transplant. Unfortunately, she did not get there, and she did get there not because of an infection that she picked up while at the old RAH, which is not an uncommon story. If she had lived, she was someone who would have desperately needed a heart and a lung.

I have a close friend who now lives in Whyalla. He used to live in Mount Gambier, but he prefers Whyalla far more than Mount Gambier, I have to point out. He was someone who had lived in Mount Gambier all his life. He was a man who came over to a big musical event in Whyalla and he contracted a virus.

Once again, he was an incredibly active individual and a very skilled tradesperson. He was into scuba diving and all sorts of things and, as a result of that virus, he also ended up with cardiomyopathy. He is living with that. He is not on a transplant list and hopefully he will continue to carry on in the way that he is currently going, but that condition has had an incredibly marked impact on his life. It is entirely possible that down the track he might need a transplant. Fingers crossed that he will not, but it is entirely possible.

Even closer to home, since the age of five my daughter has had type 1 diabetes. I listened with interest to the member for MacKillop as he spoke about his son who also has type 1 diabetes, in his case as a result of some significant damage to the pancreas. In most cases, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.

Even though my daughter is in good health, and she is now 26 and looks after herself, given the sorts of risks that you run with either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, it is entirely possible that in the future she might need a kidney transplant, but hopefully not. That is incredibly personal stuff. In terms of general principle, but also as a result of what I have been exposed to in my life, I have been a strong supporter of organ donation. I encourage people to take all the necessary steps, including speaking to family members, to ensure that, if something unfortunate happens, you would be in a position to donate organs and assist somebody else.

The member for Mount Gambier flagged the opt-out strategy. It was certainly something that I was interested in. Intuitively, I actually thought it was the right direction to move in. I think it still requires comprehensive investigation, notwithstanding the work that has really been done in other states in Australia when it comes to looking at that particular approach. There are a number of countries, especially in Europe, that have gone in that direction. For some of those countries, it has made hardly any difference whatsoever and for other countries it has improved organ donation rates.

These things are often complex, and there might be a whole raft of other variables at work, but it does not hurt to re-examine it and have a look at where the evidence now lies. I know that a lot of the experts in Australia indicate that the systems that we have in place in Australia, with the opt-in system, are working. However, we need to do more to encourage many more people to be available, if the worst happens, to be in a position to donate their organs.

It is interesting to look at the reasons why people have not opted in. We can all be slack buggers, and that is one of the reasons. When it comes to people being asked, 'Why haven't you opted in?' the two biggest reasons are that they are either too busy—it does not take long—or they have not even thought about it. In terms of that second element especially, if you have not thought about it, anything we can do to get out there in the public eye to promote it might encourage more people to think about it. It is great to see that in South Australia those people who have opted in are, in terms of percentage, the highest in the country, but even we have room to move and build on that.

When it comes to my electorate, there are some real challenges in terms of organ donation. We have the APY lands, where there is a disproportionate number of people with either chronic or acute kidney disease. I am a strong advocate of having on-land dialysis and, hopefully, that will happen in the very near future. I commend the federal government for now adopting the policy to provide a Medicare provider number for that particular service for remote communities. I think that is a good step forward.

When I was first elected to parliament, the members who were then opposite were strong advocates of having dialysis on the lands. We had a transitional approach to it. As the former state government, we introduced the mobile dialysis service, which has been very useful. I think the opposition at the time had it right. There are complexities around it, and I do not deny that, but the opposition at the time had it right in saying that we should have dialysis on the lands. Hopefully, we will see Purple House in the not too distant future do that.

When it comes to organ transplants, once again there is a gap between Aboriginal people, especially in remote communities, and the general population. That is something that needs to be addressed. It is part of a spectrum of disadvantage that Aboriginal people face, especially in remote communities. Organ donation is important in that area as well, and we need to get those numbers up for those people in Aboriginal communities who require donations. In different sections of our population, there are often cultural or other reasons why there is a reluctance to go in the particular direction of being available for organ donation or not.

I will just finish on the opt-out system again for 30 seconds. I think it is worthwhile investigating yet again, but the balance of the evidence in Australia appears to indicate that the system we have in place, though it can be improved, is working quite well.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (12:15): I also want support the member for Mount Gambier for moving this motion. For me, this highlights the importance of private members' time because it allows the house to debate and raise awareness of many issues which, not for lack of want but more for lack of time, do not get priority at other times in the parliamentary sitting week.

This motion is around acknowledging DonateLife Week, which is being recognised this week from 29 July to 5 August. The week is about raising awareness of organ and tissue donation and encouraging all Australians to register their donation decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register and discuss their donation decisions with their loved ones.

I echo and commend the contributions and remarks of the speakers before me: the members for MacKillop, Hurtle Vale and Giles. The reality is that organ donation does save lives. Every time someone registers to become an organ donor and every time that donation is accepted and used at some point, a life is saved or a quality of life improved.

I want to personally thank everyone who is an organ donor and the families of everyone who has donated an organ. It is singularly one of the most important things one can do to transform a life. In my own family, my mum is the recipient of an organ, and I thank that family—as my whole family does—that anonymous, unknown family whom my family will never know; I thank them for allowing their loved one to donate an organ and allow my mum to have a much better quality of life. Thank you to that family.

It is a very hard decision for families, at times, to accept the consent of a loved one who has said they would like to be an organ donor because by and large, especially in renal cases, kidneys, it is at a time when the loss of one life gives the ability for organs to be donated and harvested. It is a very difficult time. The reality is that organ donation is quite a rare event in Australia. We can do a lot more, and it is actually quite easy to do. In my view, there is no excuse for anyone not to do it.

So I commend the member for Mount Gambier for moving this motion. I think it is important that the house does recognise this; I know that we as a government, as well as the former government, have recognised DonateLife. There is the annual DonateLife service of remembrance held at the Masonic Lodge on North Terrace, and I attended in April this year with the member for Hurtle Vale. The families attended that event, and we listened to their stories of hope and the quality of life that organ donation has given.

I urge every member, if they do not know someone who has been the beneficiary or the family of a giver of an organ, to meet someone and hear their story. Once you have heard their story and recognised the selflessness that act entails, it will remind us all of the importance of organ donation. I think the member for Giles touched on the fact that South Australia has one of the highest participation rates on the national register. I think it is about 68 per cent. This is a great achievement by South Australians through the initiatives that we have, which is really important.

It is up to us to be a lead jurisdiction within COAG in the national framework around DonateLife. I commend the work of DonateLife SA and what they do. With those words, I thank the member for Mount Gambier for raising this important issue within the parliament.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (12:20): I would like to thank all members who have made a contribution to this very important motion and reiterate the importance of discussing organ donation with your family. If you do have a personal desire, please make that known at least. That is the first step, even if you do not want to go online and formally register. The important thing is to have those conversations so that your wishes are at least known and understood by your family.

Most importantly, I would like to sincerely thank Fiona and Matthew Dixon for allowing me to share their son Adam's story in this place, and Kimberley and Brendan Telford for sharing Kimberley's journey. I wish her all the best. I pray that a donor becomes available and that someone from Mount Gambier is the first to have a transplant in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. That is my wish for a whole range of reasons, not the least of which is the quality of life for Kimberley. With those few words, I commend the motion to the house.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.