Tasmanians Continue to Support Organ Donation

The release of the 2014 national and state performance report on organ and tissue donation shows that Tasmanians continue to save lives by donating.

In 2014 DonateLife Tasmania, the organisation responsible for coordinating organ and tissue donation in the state, coordinated nine deceased organ donations, resulting in life saving and life-changing organ transplants being available for 32 transplant recipients around Australia.

This is an increase on the 2013 outcome of eight deceased organ donors.

It translates to Tasmania achieving a donation outcome of 17.5 donors per million population, higher than the 2014 national average of 16.9.

Tasmania also has the second highest number of registered organ and tissue donors as a percentage of the state population, with 37 per cent or 193,896 Tasmanians on the Australian Organ Donor Register.

I acknowledge the generous nature of the nine Tasmanian donors and their families who provided consent for their loved ones to donate their organs in 2014.

I continue to urge Tasmanians to join the register and take the opportunity to discuss organ and tissue donation with their loved ones.

Families who have discussed the donation decisions of their loved one are much more likely to uphold that decision.

There are 1,500 Australians on transplant waiting lists at any one time and opportunities for organ donation are rare, with less than one per cent of deaths in hospitals occurring in the specific circumstances where organ donation is possible. Many more people have the potential to become tissue donors.

This is why it is so important for as many people as possible to be on the Donor Register and be prepared by having a conversation to discuss their donation decision with their loved ones.

For more information about organ and tissue donation visit www.donatelife.gov.au.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health