Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Tuesday, 2 December 2004—this day, 10 years ago—a little local Goulburn Valley schoolgirl, Zaidee Turner, died of a brain aneurysm. She was only seven. Her parents subsequently donated Zaidee Turner organs and tissues, as per her request, to save the lives of seven others. Her parents, Kim and Allan, then formed a foundation, Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation to try to raise the awareness of the need for kidney and organ donations across Australia. Sadly, of course, while we are great blood donors in Australia, and we are a very generous community and we volunteer, when it comes to organ and tissue donations there seems to be a real mind block.

In Australia one in five on the general waiting list will, tragically, die before they receive a transplant. Half of the children—and there are 50 or so currently waiting for a transplant—will die in the next 12 months before organs are available for them. This is a very sad loss and it is unnecessary when you think that in Australia we have a significant number who do express an acceptance of the donation of their kidneys or organs should they die. But in Australia we ask the family to give family consent to that rate and only 61 per cent of families give that consent. (Time expired)