December 2022 DonateLife Network Update

Message from the OTA's CEO

1. ACT legislation changes 

In late November, the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (the Bill) was passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly which amends several pieces of legislation relating to health, including the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1978. The changes will enable families of donors to share stories of their loved ones at occasions such as the annual DonateLife ACT Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving and at activities that raise awareness of organ donation. The ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to change legislation in this fashion and we are extremely grateful to Health Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith for being so very supportive of this important reform.  

2. Local community activities 

There was lots happening around the ACT for DonateLife Week, including our launch event at Merici College which was attended by the ACT Health Minister, hospital and DonateLife ACT staff, community representatives, donor families and recipients as well as staff and school leadership teams from several Catholic schools throughout the ACT. There were also many recipient stories and interviews in the media and on social media, bus and car advertising around the city, monuments lit up in magenta, businesses promoting organ and tissue donation and cafes participating in the coffee cup campaign.  

ACT agency manager Nadia and her soccer team from Canberra took part in the Pan Pacific Games which were held on the Gold Coast. They wore DonateLife socks and caps as part of their uniform which generated a lot of conversation throughout the week. Not only did they lose every single game, they also lost their dignity but none the less, awareness of organ and tissue donation was raised, so not all was lost!! 

3. CALD engagement  

In July, DonateLIfe ACT staff attended the Canberra Punjabi Sport and Cultural Association meeting and provided an information table and merchandise for the event.  

RJ Manish, the Executive Producer of Manpasand Radio 91.1 FM (a Hindi community radio program and the voice of Hindi speaking community) reached out for an interview to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation amongst the Hindi speaking people of the ACT and surrounding region. A big thank you to Manish for his enthusiasm for highlighting the importance of organ and tissue donation and to Dr Singh for being so eager to speak about a good cause to his fellow Hindi speaking Australians. 

1. Royal Easter Show 

For 11 days, NSW OTDS staff and volunteers spoke to thousands of people at the Royal Easter Show at Sydney Olympic Park with many of them checking if they were registered and registering on the AODR. 

2. Local DonateLife Week activities  

DonateLife Week saw plenty of activity across New South Wales with staff hosting many events around the network to thank their critical staff colleagues and more than 100 coffee shops getting involved in the coffee cup campaign – there were close to 160,000 QR coded stickers placed on take away coffee cups around NSW.  

3. Face-to-face Service of Remembrance  

The NSW OTDS was pleased to hold its first face-to-face Service of Remembrance since 2019 in November. More than 200 people attended the service in central Sydney. Other services were held in Newcastle and Wollongong. A donor family member who shared their personal story during the service also commented: ‘It was a day filled with emotions, but I am so glad to have been part of it…thank you so much for having me there’. 

1. Tiwi Islands visit in June 

DonateLife NT was invited to the remote Aboriginal community of Tiwi Islands to speak to key members of the community and provided education including explaining what organ donation and transplantation is. The meeting Chairman spoke about the impact of renal failure to their community and how his wife is unable to return home as there is no dialysis available for her on the island. DL NT was given permission to come again and continue their education and ongoing relationship with the Tiwi community.  

2. Darwin City to Surf Festival 

DonateLife NT sponsored the Darwin City to Surf event where over 1000 participants, both adults and children, participated in the running events and many more cheered from the sidelines. DonateLife NT staff, their family members and hospital staff participated in the 12km and 4km events (Leigh, the on-call donation nurse, even ran with his on-call phone). DonateLife was promoted over the speakers at the start of the 4km race and once again DonateLife banners were on display near the finish line. 

3. AANT Street Smart High 

DonateLife NT was invited to present and have a stall at the second annual Automobile Association of the Northern Territory (AANT) Street Smart High event in April. The event involved approximately 1,500 year 10, 11 and 12 students from schools across the NT and aimed to provide hard-hitting education on road safety and related matters. Lee Wood, NT Program and Policy Director, spoke about organ donation and the importance of AODR registration and discussing wishes with families. A stall was available for students to visit during the breaks and there was significant engagement with lots of questions about registration and requests for registration/information forms.   

4. First Nations Engagement Group  

It has been a big year for the FNEG. Though led by DonateLife NT, it is truly a national group with reps from across the Network and the OTA – and applies to us all right across the DL Network. We have engaged a First Nations advisory body (www.abstarr.com) to help to deliver our goal of engaging with and developing resources for First Nations Australians. ABSTARR will: 

• perform a cultural needs assessment and gap analysis of the OTA and DonateLife Network and provide specialist advice 

• develop a framework to assist DonateLife clinical staff improve support of First Nations families through the donation process 

• develop a framework to improve engagement of First Nations families in the community and link each DonateLife agency with local First Nations organisations to enact this.  

The initial steps involving the cultural needs assessment and gap analysis will include meetings and discussions with staff across the network, starting with senior leadership. This is planned for early next year, so we look forward to getting you more involved! 

1. Getting back into the community 

Undoubtedly the biggest highlight for the Queensland team was being able to get out into the community - attending events, hosting clinical workshops and re-activating our volunteer base. 

2. First Nations resources 

We launched our First Nations resources in Cairns during NAIDOC Week. The resources include videos and flipbooks to enable the sharing of recipient stories, as well as practical resources for staff to use at community events, such as tablecloths, banners and shirts. 

3. Community events 

We enjoyed hosting plenty of activity during DonateLife Week across the state, including The Great Registration Race from Parliament House in Brisbane, attendance at football matches at the Gold Coast and Townsville, an outside broadcast on the Sunshine Coast at the local Surf Lifesaving Club and plenty of activity at coffee shops and hospitals. 

Our final highlight for the year was bringing together more than 800 people across the state to attend Services of Remembrance for the first time since June 2019. The Services were held in nine regional locations and in Brisbane, aligning with national Thank You Day.  

1. P.A.R.T.Y Program 

A major highlight for SA was to see the P.A.R.T.Y (Prevent Alcohol & Risk-related Trauma in Youth) Program reinstated in a hospital setting post Covid-19 restrictions. DonateLife SA take part in the interactive experience by presenting at each event and offering information to students wanting to know more about organ donation. As SA have the option of choosing to be an organ donor via their driver’s licence, this program is essential so that proper consideration by students can be taken when deciding whether to tick the box when they first get their licence.   

2. State-wide rollout of End-of-Life Service Routine Notification 

A key achievement for SA was the roll out of routine notification of end-of-life medical consensus, a collaborative quality improvement project between the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) ICU, ED and DonateLife SA. This meant that organ and tissue donation was explored in all referrals. Over 700 family members discussed their experience with trained staff, providing the opportunity to debrief and improve the future EoL care and organ donation experience of patients and families in the ICU/ED. 

3. SA Rose Planting Ceremony 

On Thank You Day, DonateLife SA hosted their annual Rose Planting Ceremony where a rose is planted to honour donors and their families. This year we were honoured to hear stories from Amanda, wife of a donor and Jess, a Cystic fibrosis survivor and double lung recipient. Attendees were invited to write their donor/donor family/recipient a short message on pink hearts which were then pegged up around a beautiful tree. This year was also the first times in a few years that transplant recipients were once again invited to attend in person rather than a video of the day afterwards due to COVID-19. With hundreds in attendance, we can see how much organ and tissue donation is appreciated in our State.   

A quote from one of our amazing nurses: “My highlight for the year has definitely been speaking with families and hearing about how donation has made a positive impact on their lives in a tragic time. Also, the privilege of learning about donors, their stories, their families and the kinds of people they were” – Amanda Stewart, Donor Specialist Nursing Coordinator, DonateLife SA – how lucky we are to have people like this supporting donor families. 

1. Organ and Tissue Donation Protocol 

A significant project was completed in the second half of the year to launch the state-wide Organ and Tissue Donation Protocol. Multiple resources have been developed and distributed to increase clinical familiarity in hospitals state-wide, with documents, FAQs and posters promoting protocols and clinical pathways. DSNCs state-wide have been busy working with Clinical Champions in hospitals state-wide, with plans to grow this with further recruitment in early 2023. 

2. Increased outcomes after COVID-19 

The above investments have translated to achieving increased monthly donor referral numbers, up approximately 25% since implementation, in a year where referrals have been higher each month than previously. Casework activity has been sustained all year with higher outcomes than in the past 2 years since COVID first appeared, with actual donors up almost 130% YTD, and intended donors have increased 20% YTD. Delivery of the PEP program recommenced this year with the successful delivery of IDATs state-wide and cFDC in Hobart, after COVID caused multiple cancellations in 2021.  

3. Monthly Wellbeing Wednesdays 

Team wellbeing has been at the forefront of activity throughout the year, with staff delivering monthly Wellbeing Wednesday sessions, promoting a healthy work/life balance and wellbeing in a mental health promotion context. 

1. New corporate documents 

Earlier this year, the DonateLife Victoria Executive Team was proud to release a new suite of corporate documents, including the DLV Strategic Plan, Operational Plan and Engagement Frameworks. These were developed in collaboration with our Co-Design Council, representing all parts of the DLV Network, and have been critical this year in guiding how we work together and continue to feel connected as a geographically dispersed network. 

2. New systems and platforms  

We have launched new systems and platforms this year to make it easier for our Health Service colleagues to engage with us, which has been particularly important as our DSNC cohort transitioned to be solely employed by their home Health Service. Through a range of innovations, our team continue to work collaboratively using SharePoint and Salesforce. We’ve also launched a community portal through Salesforce that nominated hospital contacts have access to, which allows real-time access to our nursing roster and our new interactive hospital data dashboards. 

3. Face-to-face events 

The DonateLife Victoria Marketing and Communications Team were so excited this year to get back to doing face-to-face events, with a number of expos driving registration, especially with younger Victorians. The team returned to the Melbourne Royal Show and were able to plan in-person events for DonateLife Week for the first time since 2019. The national partnerships created huge opportunities for Victoria, with partnership rounds for Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm held in Melbourne, and state-wide advertising through Pixel42, News Corp, Tonic and Convenience Advertising. 

1. Multicultural Services Centre of WA (MSCWA) Community Awareness Grant   

Throughout this year, with support from Jenny Duggan and the DLWA Team, one of our 2022 Community Awareness Grant recipients, the Multicultural Services Centre of WA, held a series of community workshops to co-design and develop language-specific online podcast resources about organ and tissue donation for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Australians, launched in October on Saffron Day.   
 

2. Service of Remembrance 

A highlight for us was certainly holding our beautiful WA Service of Remembrance a week after Thank You Day, during November at City Beach foreshore, which had been rescheduled for the same location as our cancelled 2021 event. 112 people attended including donor families, with guest speakers Rowena Alexander, a donor family member, Mr Rob Larbalestier, Heart and Lung Surgeon, and Jake Prince, representing organ recipients. We were also pleased to welcome the CEO and Chair of OTA, together with the Acting Director of Public Health, and the Hon Stephen Pratt MLA representing the Minister for Health. By all accounts, everyone found the ceremony to be a fitting and supportive way to remember and celebrate their loved ones. 

3. Aboriginal Resources project 

This year also saw the completion of the Aboriginal Resources project - launched internally in the WA retrieval hospitals. 2023 will commence the official external community launch of the resources (delayed due to COVID).  

This update is a snapshot of news from across the DonateLife Network. We’d also like to continually improve our monthly update, and we welcome your feedback. 

If you have an update to share, get in touch with your state or territory communications rep or email the OTA communications team.

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These updates are distributed to DonateLife staff across Australia, via the contact details within the DonateLife Learning Site. To update this distribution list, please speak to the education coordinator in your jurisdiction. We thank you for not sharing this update with anyone outside of the network.