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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-22 Daily Xml
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ORGAN, TISSUE AND EYE DONATION

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (16:41): I rise today to speak on the event I attended on Sunday on behalf of minister Hill: the rose planting ceremony to honour South Australian organ, tissue and eye donors and their families at Bonython Park, which is where the rose garden has recently been relocated to after moving from the Charles Sturt council area.

In attendance at the event with me was the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Stephen Yarwood; Dr Sally Tideman, who is the State Medical Director of DonateLife in South Australia; Steve Cavallo, the SA and NT Branch President of Transplant Australia; Dr George Stolze, a donor family representative; and Samantha MacDonnell, a double lung transplant recipient, as is Mr Cavallo. Together with donor families and recipients, we acknowledged the contribution that both donors and their families make to South Australians and, indeed, the broader Australian community.

The Gift of Life Garden is a public tribute to many of these people who have saved or significantly improved the lives of others through either organ, tissue or eye donation. It always marks the beginning of the donation and tissue awareness campaign week that happens every year in Australia, and which began on Sunday.

Each year at the ceremony, a rose is planted to serve as an enduring symbol of the donor's remarkable gift of life. This year the rose is a Memory Rose, chosen to remember the 2010 donors. For friends and family visiting the Garden of Life, the Memory Rose will serve as a special reminder of their loved ones and their gift of life. I was glad to see so many donor families there, many of whom travelled from country areas to be with us. Many of them come each year to the ceremony to remember their loved ones.

Indeed, organ, tissue and eye donors leave a remarkable legacy. Through their selfless acts of donation, they defy death, turn grief into hope and transform terrible loss into new lives and new starts. They improve the quality of life of many people they will never meet.

Donor families, in times of trauma unimaginable to most of us, have the strength and compassion to see beyond the tragedy of their loss. Their honour and their support, by donating part of their loved one, allows many recipients to live a life that they would not have dreamed of before such surgery.

Last year, 31 South Australian organ donors gave a second chance to 89 recipients. The stories of these donors may inspire others to consider organ, tissue and eye donation. In particular, I know the case of a recipient, Kaye Sutherland, who received kidneys at two stages in her life and made a tremendous difference to the Labor Party. It was great to be able to remember Kaye as a friend, colleague and mentor at this special ceremony.

Historically, South Australians have often had a higher organ donation rate than the national average. Our spirit of compassion for others appears to be spreading to other states and territories. Last year, following the new federal government initiatives, including a network of doctors and nurses in hospitals dedicated to boosting the donation rates and a community awareness campaign, donations across the country have risen to a new high. It takes a deep generosity of spirit from donors and their families to donate tissues, organs and eyes. It is a difficult decision to make, particularly when the decision is made on behalf of a loved one who sometimes has not even expressed a desire one way or another.

I encourage all of us in this place, and in the broader community, to consider the generosity of this act and to include it in your driver's licence and make it known to your family your desire. A donation cannot proceed without the family's consent. For this reason, it is vital that we discuss our wishes with our families, and I urge you all to do that. I applaud DonateLife Week in this state and country.

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