Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Ludwig. Bearing in mind that Australia has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the developed world and that the figure has not improved for some time, and the fact that the government has now established the Organ Tissue Authority with a budget of $150 million over four years, the purpose of which is to seek to improve this donation rate, can the minister please comment on the report that in fact the donation rate in Australia has not significantly improved? There are reports that it has in fact decreased. Could the minister inform the Senate as to whether it is correct that the number of organ donations in this country has not improved, and in fact may be decreasing, and if this is correct why has it not improved?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Siewert for her question. I add to the question in this way: an acting interim CEO of the authority for organ and tissue donation was appointed on 17 March. That person is an experienced senior official and is continuing to spearhead the authority’s work. It is about ensuring that the government’s $151.1 million organ donation package is implemented successfully and in accordance with all government legal requirements. The previous CEO stated that she had left for personal reasons. Although we have now got a new package of $151.1 million, together with a new CEO, it is recognised that, while transplant success rates in Australia are among the best in the world, organ and tissue donation rates remain comparatively low. Over the past 10 years Australia has averaged around 10 donors per million of population. The current rate of 11 donors per million of population compares to 15 in the UK and over 20 in the US. It is for this reason that the government is spending the $151.1 million to create a world’s best practice and nationally consistent system for organ and tissue donation in Australia. The implementation plan and focus of the measure reflects the Sharelife Australia plan. There are encouraging early signs in providing information about how this reform is progressing. In the first quarter of this year there were 88 organ donors resulting in 251 life-transforming transplantations. That is the highest number for this period than any other year in the past decade. (Time expired)

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer, but he was only just starting to get to the point. Has there been an overall increase since the authority was implemented and put in place in the organ donation rate in this country? If not, why not, and what is the government doing about it?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have been outlining, the government has put together a package. We recognise that organ and tissue donation rates have remained comparatively low in relation to other countries. I indicated in the principal answer that we have also implemented a plan to focus on the measures and to reflect the Sharelife Australia plan. I also indicated that the early signs are promising. In the past two years we have also averaged over 50 donors more than for the last 10 years before that. So the signs are encouraging, but it is recognised that comparatively they still remain low. Clearly, to improve donation rates we must change two things: first, hospitals need systems and staff of the right capacity and expertise to enable organ and tissue donations and, second—one of the most important—Australians need to be empowered with the information necessary to make informed choices. (Time expired)

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I again thank the minister for his answer. Has the government set milestones for the operation of the implementation plan and, if they have, have those milestones been met in the authority’s first period of operation?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Siewert for her question. We have already made very good progress in laying the foundation for change in public hospitals. That is the first step in meeting that first requirement. We have appointed over 150 staff dedicated to improving Australia’s donation rates in 76 major public hospitals around the country and we have established organ and tissue donation agencies with specialist organ donor coordinators in all jurisdictions. We have launched a clinical trigger tool in hospitals across the country to assist clinical staff in the identification of potential donors and we have developed a new funding stream for hospitals to ensure costs are not a barrier to organ donations. To complement the work in hospitals, the Organ and Tissue Authority is also tackling the required change in community perception which, as I said, was the second area we have to address. To do that, we are launching a national advertising campaign in May 2010 to promote the need for families— (Time expired)