The thought or organ donation makes many people feel a little uneasy as it conjures up thoughts of tragedy but for those who remain, organ donation can provide comfort and meaning to that tragedy, and a sense that some good has come of it.

Vital Statistics

Kidney 1388 Heart 100, Liver 198, Lung 141, Pancreas 48.

In 2007, 198 people had donated organs, allowing 626 transplants to be performed. In 2008, 259 Australians became organ donors allowing 846 transplants to be performed.

The 2009 result was a 31% increase on the 2008 result. The 2008 result was a 30% increase on the previous year's 198 organ donors, following 202 in 2006.

The waiting list for kidneys dropped from 1,388 to 1,298 during 2008 - the biggest drop in any transplant category - but the wait still remains at an average of four to five years. Kidneys account for 48 per cent of all organ transplants in Australia.

Donation rates were up in 2008 in every state, led by South Australia at 27 donors per million people followed by Tasmania (16), 13 each from WA and Victoria then Queensland (11) and NSW (8).

There was a national organ donor rate of 12 people for every million Australians.

The transplant waiting list for all types of organs fell over the 12 months of 2008 - from 1,875 patients to 1,716

On average, patents on the transplant list wait just over 4 years for a kidney, just over 1 year for a heart or lungs, 8 months for a liver and 2 years for a pancreas.

In Australia, the average patient survival rate one year after receiving a transplant is 90% - one of the highest rates in the world.

The following links will take you to the Medicare site where you can register to be an organ donor, check your donor status and obtain further information on organ donation.

Info page:

http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/public/services/aodr/index.jsp

Online Registration page:
https://www2.medicareaustralia.gov.au/pext/registerAodr/Pages/DonorRegistration.jsp

At the 3rd of January 2008, 1 875 people were waiting for organ transplants:

Organ Donor Awareness Week is aimed at providing awareness of organ donation in the community. It also promotes the importance of family discussion with this critical issue as about 100 people die each year waiting for an organ transplant, a figure which will be reduced if more Australians register for organ donation. Australia has one third of the organ donation rate in Spain and about half that of Italy and Ireland, mainly because Australians are not registering their consent to be an organ donor or they have not told family and friends about their wishes.

Recent research has shown that no less than 94 per cent of Australians support organ and tissue donation for transplantation. About 35 per cent of the eligible population have registered their wishes on the Australian Organ Donor Register. Donated organs and tissue such as hearts, lungs, kidneys, bone or skin can save lives, or dramatically improve lives. And we have some of the most successful rates of outcomes of organ and tissue transplantation surgery in the world.

But despite all this, Australia has one of the lowest rates of organ and tissue donation among Western countries.

There is no age limit for the donation of some organs and tissues and as many as 10 people can benefit from the organ and tissue donations of one person. Usually a transplanted organ will last 10 - 15 years.

Current legislation is state or territory based, covered by Human Tissue Acts. However in general, the acts state that a person can choose to be a donor and donation may proceed until the wish is reversed or where the family maintains a sincerely held objective. In Western Australia family cannot legally override consent. Where the deceased's wishes are not known, consent for organ donation rests with the next of kin. Because of the possibility of family override of decisions, if you do want to be an organ donor, it is extremely important that not only do you officially register as an organ donor but you inform your family of your wishes.

People can no longer register their intention to donate on their drivers' licence. The only method is to register on the donor list.

All Australians who had used their licence to indicate their wish to donate up until June 2005 have had their names transferred onto the register. When people register, their Medicare number is recorded so that even if they move interstate their wishes are recorded.