Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Amendment (Disclosure of Information) Bill 2023. Donating an organ or tissue is one of the greatest gifts we can give to others. Now, I don't want to become one of those MPs who quote themselves—'Well done, Graham; well done!' Nevertheless, I talked about organ donation in my first speech, way back in February 2008. Back then my friend Debbie Duddridge had died just a few months earlier, on 29 October 2007, right in the middle of the election campaign, while waiting for a set of lungs. Her partner, Margie Kruger, and I did law together, and I know how devastating that loss was for Debbie's family and for Margie. I know that one person deciding to sign up to be a donor could change the lives of up to seven people. Seven Debbie Duddridges might have been smiling rather than seven Margie Krugers grieving. By donating, we can literally change lives by saving lives. It is hard to think of any other way you could make that much of a great and direct difference to someone—somebody who you, the donor, will never meet or interact with. This is the ultimate selfless gesture, where the self is donated.

Unfortunately, in some Australian states, unless a person expressly gives permission for the sharing of their donation story, it will never be made public. The point of telling these wonderful stories is that they end up saving lives and encouraging thousands of others to do the same. I told that Debbie Duddridge story—a sad story—way back in 2008, to inspire others to donate. But imagine if Debbie were here to tell a different version of her story—and I know that Debbie would be a much better recruiter than me and a much better storyteller than me.

We live in a healthy, wealthy country, and most Australians live long and fulfilling lives. And this is a good thing. However, it also means that they have few organ donation options. The barnacles of age and accompanying illnesses mean that few senior bodies have much to donate back to the herd. To become an actual donor relies on many factors, and the circumstances all have to align at the right time.

Firstly, for instance, a donor with well-functioning organs would need to pass away in a hospital. They would need this prior medical supervision just to be considered as a donor. This is even before medical professionals assess a medical history to rule their organs in or out—to rule on which organs they may or may not be able to donate. For example, an alcoholic's liver probably wouldn't be suitable, because it would've been a bit overworked. I'm not making a comment on anyone at all. But, on the other hand, perhaps, the heart from someone in the modern Liberal Party would be almost totally unused!

I assure those present, I wrote this speech a long time ago, before I knew who was in the chamber!

The second factor that doctors have to consider is the health of the needed organs. Are they are viable donations? These specific medical requirements mean that there are only around 1,400 deceased Australians each year who meet these medical criteria.

When you think about everything that has to fall into line for a possible donation, it is reasonable to think that, in the tragic and vast majority of occasions, these situations are unexpected; the spinner of the year seems to work quite haphazardly, thankfully. Consequently, the person would have never thought about having to give official permission to have their donation story shared. Obviously, this is because they didn't expect that their time on this earth would be up so soon. Obviously, many of us embrace Yossarian's words from Joseph Heller's magnificent Catch-22: we're going to live forever, or die in the attempt! No doubt, publication permission would have been given if they'd been told beforehand that their time was approaching, but that's not how the person who spins the wheel works. How immortal is it to share the story of possibly saving the lives of seven other people—seven people with families and loved ones, who, through the donor's generosity, will be able to spend more time with their families and friends. So, as a result, the Organ and Tissue Authority and Commonwealth-funded state and territory DonateLife agencies are limited in the ways they can deliver the national organ and tissue donation and transplantation program. This particularly affects their community awareness activities and events involving donor families.

This bill seeks to broaden the disclosure of information provisions in the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Act to allow DonateLife agencies, grant recipients and authorised family members to publish, disseminate or disclose information about deceased donors and recipients without breaching the law of a state or territory. The bill maintains important provisions requiring the consent of the family of an organ donor prior to the disclosure of information, and clarifies and extends who is classified as an authorised family member for the purposes of providing this consent. This will enable the families of organ donors who've made the brave and generous decision to say 'yes' to organ donation at one of the most difficult times of their life to commemorate the gift that their family member or loved one gave: the gift of life to up to seven people. It will let these families tell their stories of their loved one and, in so doing, encourage the broader Australian public to do the same thing, whether it is to simply sign up to be an organ and tissue donor or to have that important conversation with your loved ones about your wishes when you pass. Knowing is so important, as it means there is no second-guessing what your loved one would have wanted. Making sure their wishes are met sometimes involves the conflict between a love partner and a family saying, 'This is what the person would have wanted.' Having worked in wills and estates, I find it amazing what can happen after someone passes away. Knowing is so important. Having that clear and concise information is just one less thing to have to think about at one of the most difficult times of our life.

The bill also maintains the safeguards in regard to privacy that are vital to the functioning of our best practice organ and tissue donation system. I might add that Australia's best practice organ and tissue donation system is a proud legacy of the Rudd Labor government. I mention Rudd in particular because Prime Minister Rudd actually had had interaction with this and was quite passionate about it. It was a government that invested in programs to boost awareness, equip hospitals and provide better access to care and information for families of potential donors facing certain death. It is this Albanese Labor government that is committed to extending this legacy and improving donation rates. This bill is the next step in this important work.

In regard to maintaining safeguards, of course some donor families and recipients would prefer to stay anonymous. This bill will not facilitate direct contact between donor families and organ and tissue recipients. Every state and territory is committed to continuing to protect the rights of donor families and transplant recipients who wish to remain anonymous. Donor families and those who have received a transplant can continue to contact each other anonymously through their jurisdictional DonateLife agency. This will not change. What this bill will do is harmonise legislative requirements on disclosure nationally. It will help support increased community awareness about donation and registration and allow donor families to tell their powerful stories and commemorate their loved one in remembrance services. How special those left behind will feel, knowing that their loved one, even after death, has helped others to live. The legacy of life that continues after death is so powerful.

I encourage everyone to do those two things today: firstly, talk to your family and make clear your wishes about donation and ask your family members what their wishes are as well; and secondly, jump on donatelife.gov.au and register as a donor.

I commend this bill to the House.

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