Motions

DonateLife Week

Debate resumed.

Mrs POWER (Elder) (12:16): I rise today to support the member for Hurtle Vale's motion, moved by the member for Mount Gambier, regarding DonateLife Week and the vital nature of organ donation. It is clear that many of us from both sides of the house actively support organ and tissue donation, and we will certainly continue to advocate its crucial importance in the community. Pleasingly, South Australia has the highest percentage of registered donors in the country, at nearly 70 per cent of our population. In this respect, as many of the members have mentioned, we lead the nation.

I think the fact that so many people have given thought to how they can help another should the worst happen to themselves is something that we can all be very, very proud of as South Australians. What a great and powerful legacy: to save a life when one's own life has come to an end. This is not all, because saving lives means saving families. Through the generosity of organ donation, one less family can be devastated by the loss of a daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, son, aunt, uncle, husband or wife grieving the passing of a loved one.

This of course does not make one's loss any less should a member of one's own family pass away. Despite the ultimate generosity of organ donation by someone you loved, you will always wish that it did not happen. Perhaps, during this time of grief we can all call upon the fact that one day we or our loved ones could be saved by organ donation. In such sadness, comfort may be found. This can be made possible only if people continue to register as donors.

When organ donation occurs, it is a rare event, even if you have registered. Only 3 per cent of people who pass away in hospital can actually become an organ donor due to the difficult or the particular circumstances required for a patient to be a suitable organ donor. As a government we recognise it is critical to continue these nation-leading numbers of organ donor registrations.

I had the opportunity to promote the cause when the DonateLife team attended parliament during DonateLife Week last month with snaps and pictures with some of my parliamentary colleagues to encourage other people to find out more about donating an organ. It is easy to do: you can register with the DonateLife team or through your own driver's licence.

South Australia continues to be unique, with people retaining the option to indicate their intent for organ donation through the state's driver's licence arrangements. I think this remains a great prompt to think about one's own wishes regarding organ donation. As a state, we have also continued to implement improved hospital procedures to explore all donation opportunities. This has resulted in a steady increase in hospital referrals for possible donation since 2015, nearly doubling from 82 referrals in 2015 to 151 referrals last year.

DonateLife Week continues to be an important health event on our calendar, and it is a pleasure to join so many of my parliamentary colleagues today to celebrate and acknowledge DonateLife Week, as it reminds all of us to discuss our donation decisions with our loved ones. This is critical because, should the time come, they can make the ultimate decision about what happens with their donation. Anybody who has been confronted with the loss of a loved one will know that this time is already difficult in so many ways.

There are so many decisions for family members to make in terms of funeral arrangements and all sorts of things, so if there is anything that you can do to make that time a little bit easier for your family, by their knowing what your wishes are, then I encourage everybody to do so. You can perhaps talk not only about whether or not you want to donate organs but also about what you want regarding funeral arrangements and those sorts of things which we do not like talking about but which can certainly make things a little bit easier because you have informed your family of your wishes. If you do decide to donate, you know that you could potentially be saving other lives.

In concluding, I would like to thank the team at DonateLife for the incredible work that they do in prompting people to think about this matter. It is often a difficult conversation and topic for many of us. I would like to especially acknowledge all those people who have passed over—to, I do not know, the other side or whatever people believe in—and who have donated organs. I particularly acknowledge those who have registered to be a donor. They may not yet have passed, but they have indicated their wishes to make a profound difference to somebody else's life. I acknowledge them all and commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.