Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to begin my contribution in supporting this motion by thanking the honourable member for Petrie for bringing this matter of critical importance to the attention of the House. It was not something that I had turned my mind to in any forensic way. I was aware of it; it was there; it was happening; it is a good thing. But the fact that you put it on the Notice Paper and I said that I wanted to speak to it meant that I had to do some research. I would also like to thank the honourable member for Petrie for sending me some of the links to websites that made that research a bit easier. It is one of those issues where there is no browbeating or people saying that somebody else is responsible. It is just a question of this being a really important issue. It is a work in progress. It is an issue that we all have to do better on. The member for Petrie is raising awareness of this issue. That awareness raising is the important factor. When members hear about this and start to know things about it, they can take it up in other forums in their respective states

I would also like to thank the honourable member for Bowman for his contribution, which was technically informative. I am not going to try to match it, given his previous profession. It was good to hear that, as it provided a broad perspective on the whole issue of organ and tissue donation. It provided some facts and figures and also some of the challenges. Having served on hospital boards and having set up the first ethics committee at Lismore Base Hospital—and I understand that the honourable member was at Lismore Base Hospital—I know that hospitals face very real issues daily. We can debate a lot of those issues at a theoretical level and take philosophical positions on them—and we do—but the fact is that most people want us to address them in a way that is also practical so that we can help families and loved ones who struggle and have to face some very difficult challenges to do with illness, and particularly with their children.

I am coming to grips with this issue and what cord blood is. I have read that cord blood is the blood left behind in the placenta. I heard from the honourable member for Petrie that it is also left behind in the umbilical cord after the birth of the baby. It is a rich source of blood-forming stem cells. It can be used instead of bone marrow transplants in children. The cord blood research throughout the world continues to explore its potential. There are no guarantees that it can prevent or cure the range of disease that some claim it can. But it certainly is helping.

One of the things that the honourable member for Petrie said was that the umbilical cords and the placentas go into the medical waste of the hospital. Having served on hospital boards, I know that to be true. There were issues to do with getting rid of medical waste, what it is, where it goes and all of that that we had to deal with. So I was well aware of what constitutes medical waste in the system.

Something that I read about was what cord blood does, and not just in the technical sense. I had a look at the website of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. It says ‘cord blood gives a second chance’. That says a lot. That is clearly what is being expressed in this motion and by the honourable members speaking to it. That is what this is about: giving that second chance. Cord blood gives a second chance where there might have been no chance and no hope. To have this available as a medical resource is a great thing. For women who have given birth, it is a gift that they can give freely as they know how it is going to be used. As mothers, we are called on to give many gifts in our lives. This is another gift, but what a wonderful gift. It seems like we are always giving. This is one of those gifts that I will not get the opportunity to give, but if I was able to give it I am certain that I would.

The research, and statements by previous speakers, shows that cord blood cannot be given everywhere and it cannot be given out of hours. That is something that has to be worked on. I had a look at the hospitals where it is available, The member for Petrie spoke about the states where it is and is not available. When I look at New South Wales, the state that I live in, I see that public cord blood donation is available at just four hospitals—all in Sydney. I understand that cord blood donation may be difficult to do at some of the regional hospitals, but people do give birth at regional hospitals. I am sure that will change as things develop and more money is made available. It is very pleasing to know that in the 2010 budget the government made available $18 million over four years for the National Cord Blood Collection Network. When I looked at the hospitals, I saw that they are mainly in capital areas. I imagine that they are probably the teaching hospitals or the major referral hospitals in those areas.

My research informed me of the fact, which I did not know, that the Cord Blood Bank is a partnership between the Bone Marrow Donor Institute—the BMDI as it is also known—the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. It was nice to read about the work that they are doing together. The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute website talked about helping over 100 people, including a 5-year-old girl named Milli Kerr-Crowley, whom I mention because her name is publicly available. Milli was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just six months old. After months of chemotherapy and an injection of cord blood from an anonymous donor Milli’s health quickly improved. I know that I cannot make any scientific comment, but the title reads ‘Cord blood gives second chance’. Clearly, that is what the institute is trying to show: that cord blood can be well utilised, including with other traditional forms of treatment. I imagine that in the future it will become a traditional treatment as well.

I thought about the risks involved, because we are talking about medical procedures, so I did some research on that. It would have been interesting to hear from the good doctor about whether there were any risks. Everything I read said, no, there were no risks. It is even easier, if you are a mother who has just given birth, to give that gift if you know that there are no risks associated with it. There can be risks for people who make organ and tissue donations. However, everything I have read about cord blood donation has said that there is no risk. That is very reassuring to know, because it makes cord blood donation much easier to promote.

In closing, the member for Bowman spoke about organ donation. It seems that the figures for organ donation in Australia are low. We talk about it a lot and we are conscious of it but we do not seem to sign on easily. I know that I hesitated, but I have now signed my licence to say that I will donate organs.

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