How many Australian lives were saved through organ donation in 2020?

How does this compare to previous years?

Sadly we saw a reduction, largely due to COVID, we saw a 12 per cent decrease in the number of people receiving a transplant and a 16 per cent decrease in the number of organ donors. There was an 18 per cent decrease in kidney transplants last year.

How has COVID-19 impacted organ donation and transplantation?

It has been a challenging year for organ donation and transplantation. Doctors and nurses have worked very hard to minimise risks so that patients received the best possible outcomes. Teams had to navigate the challenges facing hospitals as well as logistics – including COVID-19 safe restrictions, flight reductions which is a big thing and border closures.

What do you want Australians to do?

I want Australians to first of all talk to their families, make sure they know you wish to donate your organs at the time of your passing, and then go online to donatelife.gov.au, follow the links it only takes a minute and register to be an organ donor.

Should regional Australians register to be an organ donor?

People who live in regional Australia are encouraged to be organ donors, it doesn’t matter where you live it’s that important you register. Talk to your family make sure they know what your wishes are and it’s pretty easy, you register online it only takes a minute donatelife.gov.au, follow the links and it’s very, very simple.

Can you briefly tell us how many Australian lives have been saved through organ transplants over the past decade?

What we have seen in the past decade is more than 14,000 Australians receiving an organ transplant and that’s thanks to 5,000 donors and their families who said “yes” to donation, and we’d like to thank them for that.

What impact has COVID-19 had on the national program?

There was a 12 per cent decrease in the number of people receiving a transplant with a 16 per cent decrease in the number of donors compared to 2019. Given the challenges faced throughout the year, this is a better than expected outcome. Donation and transplant doctors and nurses have worked incredibly hard to minimise the impact of the pandemic.

What changes were made to the transplant program in response to COVID-19?

At the start of the pandemic, the transplant sector took precautionary steps and suspended the adult kidney and pancreas transplant programs due to the concern about hospitals being overwhelmed and also to prevent transplant patients at high risk being exposed to the virus. Life-saving heart, lung, liver and paediatric transplants continued for those patients who were at risk of dying without a transplant.

For those who aren’t aware, can you briefly explain why registering to be a donor and telling your family about it is important?

Telling your family you want to be a donor and registering to be a donor has a direct influence on people saying yes to donation. We know that more than 70 per cent of Australians support donation, but only 4 in 10 families say “yes” to donation when faced with this decision in the hospital when they do not know what their loved-one wanted. Consent rates are also higher when a donation specialist nurse or doctor is involved in supporting families in the hospital.

How else can we improve the numbers of organ donation?

We need everyone to talk about donation. Ultimately we need more people need to say “yes” to donation. Register and talk to your family, it only takes a minute to register at donatelife.gov.au

What can locals do to improve the numbers of organ donation?

We need everyone in the local community to talk about donation and take the time to register, it’s simple and easy, it takes less than a minute at donatelife.gov.au