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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-14 Daily Xml
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Organ Donation

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:35): Today, I rise to speak about the importance of organ donation and how transplantation enables people to resume an active role in their family, workplace and community. I previously spoke on how dialysis is a lifeline for patients with kidney failure and why services for people who undergo treatment need to be accessible regardless of proximity to their local dialysis centre, as well as in regional areas. Since then, the Albanese federal Labor government has announced renal dialysis units for six remote locations across the country. Among the locations in South Australia are Coober Pedy and Yalata, so that First Nations people can receive treatment closer to their communities. This is indeed a great initiative and hopefully the beginning of many more to follow.

As I continue to speak about different patients to shed light on the multifaceted problem of chronic kidney disease and its impacts, I would like to share the story of Frank Lopresto. Frank is my dialysis buddy. He is 53 years old and was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys, approximately 14 years ago at the age of 39. He started dialysis in 2019 and has been on the kidney donor waiting list for 3½ years.

Frank has had three opportunities to receive a kidney transplant during this time, but none of them have eventuated. The first one was a year ago, but he was in isolation with COVID; the second one was a year later, and his latest opportunity was in April. He got as far as the operating table at the Royal Adelaide Hospital but once again missed out on his chance to receive the transplant. The fire sprinklers in the surgical suite unexpectedly activated mid-surgery, flooded the area and contaminated both Frank and the donated organ. Weeks after the incident, Frank has expressed his disappointment, not only because he waited for 3½ years for a suitable organ to become available but also because he had to stay away from work for six weeks to recover from the operation. Frank is now back to square one.

Like Frank, many patients in South Australia rely on organ donors to receive life-changing transplants. According to the 2022 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report, there are currently around 1,800 Australians on the waitlist for an organ transplant and 14,000 additional people on dialysis, many of whom need a kidney transplant. One donor can save the lives of up to seven people and help many more through eye and tissue donation. However, only around 2 per cent of people who die in Australian hospitals meet the criteria to be organ donors.

In 2022, 1,400 people died in a way where organ donation could be considered. Requests to family for donations were made in 1,300 cases. Of these, 701 families said yes to donation in the hospital, representing a national consent rate of 54 per cent with 454 people becoming organ donors.

The consent rate in South Australia is 60 per cent and we proudly display our status as organ donors on our driver's licence. We are the only state to retain this option with the driver's licence. The number of registered donors is 73 per cent, double the average rate in other states. This is the first step to giving someone a second chance in life and it is indeed extraordinary. However, surveys show that although support for organ donation sits between 70 and 80 per cent among the Australian public, fewer families choose to donate when the time comes.

It is critical that we keep this conversation about organ donation alive with friends and family to further raise the profile of donation in the state and explore ways to make it easier for people to become organ donors. Some day it could be your family or loved one who needs an organ and can benefit from another person's generosity. In Frank's own words, 'Just do it; for some people it can be life-changing.'

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