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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-07-30 Daily Xml
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DonateLife Week

Ms COOK (Fisher) (14:32): Today's question is for the Minister for Health. Minister, can you tell the house about this year's DonateLife Week?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:32): I thank the member for Fisher for this very, very important question. Everyone in the house would be familiar with the member for Fisher's own, personal connection to DonateLife since she tragically lost her son, Sam. Sam was an organ donor and, in what is often a bittersweet tale, her family's loss became another family's source of joy as his organs were used to save the lives of others.

This year marks 50 years since the first successful living kidney transplant in Australia which was performed at our very own Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is incredible to think of what relief would have gone through the minds of the doctors, nurses and medical staff, let alone the first patient and his family, when this first successful procedure was performed.

It is remarkable to think of what our medical professionals have been able to achieve over the last 50 years. Ten years after the first procedure in 1965, the success rate was around 60 per cent, and that has now increased in the past 40 years to a current success rate of 94 per cent. In the past 50 years since this first life-improving procedure was undertaken, there have been 2,575 kidney transplants performed in what is now known as the Central and Northern Renal & Transplantation Service, with over 1,000 of them still functioning—the best ratio of functioning graphs to population in the country.

On Saturday, I'm looking forward to joining Professor James Lawrence AO, retired nephrologist, as well as Mr Peter Knight, the first transplant surgeon, and Mrs Stella Tirimacco, widow of Peter Tirimacco, who was the first recipient, as well as around 300 kidney transplant recipients, for afternoon tea to commemorate this important medical breakthrough. Saturday's event will kickstart this year's DonateLife Week.

DonateLife Week will again focus on having the conversation with your loved ones about your desire to have your organs donated. It is an unfortunate reality that, when the time comes, many families are unsure about what the patient's wishes are around this important issue. A simple conversation about your wishes goes far to helping them say yes in the event they need to make that difficult decision.

Last year, I oversaw the implementation of the advance care directive legislation, which allows people to write down their wishes should they become mentally incapacitated. Writing down your wishes to be an organ donor in your advance care directive is yet another way to ensure that through death you can give life to others. I encourage all members of the house to get involved with this year's DonateLife Week, to have the conversation with your families and help save the lives of others.

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