Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I start by thanking the member for Canberra for bringing this important matter to our attention. I also bring the House's attention to the establishment of the Parliamentary Friends of Organ and Tissue Donation initiated by my colleague the member for Canberra and its inaugural meeting is going to be on this coming Wednesday.

Last year 309 organ donors gave 931 Australians a chance at a new life. Despite that being the highest number of donations in a decade, regrettably it still leaves 1,700 people waiting on the transplant list for organ donation. These individuals are often on the list for anywhere between six months to four years, and regrettably a lot of people die whilst waiting.

Despite having one of the highest rates of success of transplant operations in the world, Australia has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the developed world. Given the fact that Australians generally acknowledge organ donation as a good thing, regrettably that does not translate into a significant increase in the organ donation rate. Considering our well-known Australian spirit in lending a hand in times of adversity, similarly this spirit should apply to most people's thinking, and I think it generally does, when it comes to organ donation. The government's organ and tissue donation national reform package, which was introduced with the agreement of the states and is funded to the tune of $151 million, is a truly crucial step towards increasing awareness of organ donation and, in particular, towards informing people of what the true facts about it are. The government has established a coordinated approach to organ donation, using 240-odd staff working through about 77 different hospitals and DonateLife agencies across Australia, thus enabling the jurisdictions to work cooperatively to support and sustain improvements in the organ donation rate.

We often put ourselves in the hands of our doctors and rightfully put our trust in their judgment. That is why, in the interests of increasing the organ donation rate, I have entered into an arrangement with Dr Phan Giang Sang, who is a Vietnamese doctor in Cabramatta. As you are aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, 20 percent of people in my electorate speak Vietnamese at home. There is a very low organ donation rate in my electorate, so Dr Sang has written a number of books about organ donation. He is particularly committed to encouraging awareness among the Vietnamese community and people of other migrant backgrounds about organ donation and to debunking the misconception that organ donation is somehow contrary to various cultural or religious beliefs. Dr Sang has consented to having my flyer printed which is now going out to every one of the GPs in Cabramatta and is translated into Vietnamese with a view to trying to increase the take-up rate among Vietnamese people in my area. I would encourage members to enter into agreements with local doctors in an attempt to deliver better organ donation outcomes for our community.

I know organ donation is a very difficult subject—when a loved one dies, you do not expect to be asked about it. But I have often spoken on this in this parliament, and I refer now to very good friend of mine, Debbie Roberts. Her daughter who was only 20 at the time, died some years back. Fortunately, her daughter had the fortitude to have a good talk with her mum about what her intentions were should she die. Debbie often talks to me about the assistance that her daughter has given to other people—in fact, she has changed their lives. Four people now have healthy lives because of the generous position of her daughter Rebecca. (Time expired)

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