The Australian government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
Dear DonateLife team,
I hope this DLN update finds you well. I’m incredibly proud of how adaptable the DonateLife network is as we continue to navigate changing impacts of COVID-19 on our program. I want to especially acknowledge the hard work of staff who have worked tirelessly over the past few months, facing increasing pressure in health systems from rising case numbers.
The COVID-19 Donation and Transplantation Taskforce continues to meet fortnightly, sharing key issues impacting the sector as well as what the national and international data is telling us. While the taskforce’s communiques are publicly available, we have started a complementary fortnightly DonateLife leadership meeting to enable better information flow and learnings about COVID-19 impacts into the network. This has been an excellent chance for us to all to stay up to date on the significant impacts in NSW and Victoria over the past few months, the planning in place for other states and continues to provide a forum as we transition to opening up and “living with” COVID.
In OTA news I am really excited to let you know I have been re-appointed as the OTA CEO for a further 4 years. It is such a privilege to lead a program which is making a real difference to people lives. With the impacts to the program over the past 2 years due to COVID, I look forward to the chance for all of us to work to together to bring our program back to 2019 outcomes and move to the next stage after this.
In addition we have had a change to the OTA Board accountability. From 1 November 2021, the revised Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Act 2008 transitioned the OTA Board from being the OTA’s Accountable Authority under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (the PGPA Act) to an Advisory Board.
This means that the OTA CEO assumed the role of the Accountable Authority (meaning responsible for the functions and performance of the Agency) and the Advisory Board will provide a dedicated focus on the provision of strategic advice and direction for the national program.
We do hope you find this network update useful and are very open to feedback on the format and frequency. This is the second issue being sent to all DL staff across the network, please email your local education coordinator and let them know if any updates need to be made to our learning portal distribution list.
Warm wishes and take care
Lucinda
As at the end of October 2021, there have been 351 deceased organ donors and 975 transplant recipients in 2021.
This is a decrease in donations of 9% while transplant recipient numbers have decreased by 7% - compared to 2020. If you compare 2021 to 2019, donation and transplant recipient numbers have decreased by 26% and 23% respectively due to the impact of COVID-19 on the program.
In positive news - there have been 292,464 new registrations on the AODR as at the end of October, an increase of 79% compared to 2020 (163,461).
Routine Referral of all planned end of life in ICU and ED
Routine referral rates for both the ICU and ED are higher than the 2020 averages, at 84% and 48% respectively, however there were 80 cases (53 non-neuro) where staff did not think of referral, 18 where the treating clinician chose not to refer (8 non-neuro) and 19 where the family had declined donation prior to referral (one non-neuro).
Donation Specialist Nurse in the donation conversation with families
The YTD consent rate is 56%. DSN involvement is 78% to date in 2021, an increase over 2020 (74%).
There were 179 requests where a DSN was not involved with 36 consents. In 125 of these the patient was not registered, and donation was raised by staff, with a consent rate of 13% compared with 48% when a DSN was present.
There have been 233,577 new registrations on the AODR as at the end of September, an increase of 55% compared to 2020 (150,161). We achieved a record number of new registrations during the DonateLife Week campaign period and are continuing to see high numbers that can be attributed to more people accessing their Medicare Express Plus app/myGov accounts for COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
During the campaign period (June, July and August) we managed to get an amazing 108,952 more registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register which is a huge achievement and something we couldn’t have done without your support and involvement. Explore a full wrap up of the campaign in our DonateLife Week highlights.
DonateLife Thank You Day 2021 is taking place Sunday 21 November 2021 with preparations for the campaign currently underway. Thank You Day is a national day to honour organ donors and recognise all Australians who make organ and tissue donation possible, using social media as the primary campaign channel.
The OTA has recently released our key planning and performance reporting documents. These are important documents for setting performance goals and tracking our progress against our purpose – to save and improve the lives of more Australians through optimising potential organ and tissue donation for transplantation.
The Strategic Plan 2021-2022 to 2024-25 is a key planning document for the OTA and the DonateLife Network focused on delivering a collaborative and consistent national program. The plan sets out the key objectives, strategies and actions to be undertaken over the next four years, as well as the key areas of focus and the performance measures against which our progress will be monitored and reported. The plan has been developed in consultation with the DonateLife Network leadership team, state and territory health departments, and OTA staff; and endorsed by the OTA Board.
The Corporate Plan 2021-22 to 2024-25 is the OTA’s primary planning document as a government entity. It sets out the OTA’s purpose, the environment in which we work, our capability and our risk oversight and management systems.
The OTA Annual Report 2020-21 is the OTA’s key reporting document, providing information about our operations and performance for the last financial year.
The DonateLife Web Coaching Program has now been running for 7 months. 28 donation nurses have participated and 77% have provided feedback on their session.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 95% of respondents said they strongly agree that both “The content of the training was appropriate” and that “Overall, I was satisfied with this training". Many of the respondents commented on the simulation feeling real, the value of the video play back, the skilled and constructive feedback and the safe and supportive environment. We highly recommend that all DonateLife staff schedule in a session when they can.
The Best Practice Guideline for Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death (DCDD) new guideline was published in October. It promotes a consistent, medically appropriate, and highly ethical practice of DCDD in Australia that optimises donation and transplantation outcomes. It supersedes the 2010 ‘National protocol for donation after cardiac death.
The National Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for managing correspondence between donor families and transplant recipients was updated and released earlier this year. An article highlighting the key changes to the SOP, as well as the correspondence guidelines for donor families and transplant recipients, was published in the August edition of the Transplant Journal of Australasia.
In December 2018, the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade tabled the report of its Inquiry into Human Organ Trafficking and Organ Transplant Tourism. The report included 12 recommendations for the Australian Government to pursue to combat the prevalence of human organ trafficking and transplant tourism. The government response to the report has now been tabled in Parliament.
The Transition to Virtual Crossmatch (VXM) project progressed to phase 2a of the implementation plan on the 18th October. This phase involved the commencement of an Organ Offer List (OOL) which provides a DSA assessment detailing the presence or absence of Donor Specific HLA antibodies without a CDC crossmatch result. This transition means the OOL is now available sooner than previously experienced so that offers and the allocation process can commence earlier. Once CDC crossmatch results are available the OOL is reissued.
Future implementation phases in the VXM project in 2022 will see the gradual phasing out of all CDC crossmatches, and will be widely communicated across the donation and transplantation sector.
This VXM project is a collaboration between the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood with support from the OTA. Transitioning to virtual crossmatches will align Australian practice with the international transplantation community. The project leads would like to thank DonateLife for their involvement in the project and willingness to embrace the practice change to the OOL.
What’s your name and where do you work?
Alison Hodak, sometimes known as Allie. I now work with the OTA based in Canberra
What’s your role in the DonateLife network/OTA?
My role is Director of Clinical Programs Delivery.
Brief explanation of your role
A recently developed role that focuses on leading and supporting the Clinical Programs Team to deliver key national initiatives to support the DonateLife Network and the broader clinical sector in the delivery of the National program for organs and tissue donation for transplantation in Australia.
What do you love about your role?
Having worked in the donation sector for many years, I am passionate about organ donation and transplantation. The impact we as health professionals can have on families and recipients in crucial moments in their lives is something I love about this sector.
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
I am proud of the range of work opportunities I have taken and the impacts I have made on various areas within health particularly in Intensive Care. Making an impact and supporting people I work with or lead and seeing those positive flow on effects is definitely something I have been proud of.
What was your first job?
Pizza spinner
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Early bird
Are you a dog person or a cat person (or neither)?
Definitely a dog person, Chandler is our Bernese Mountain Dog who has relocated to Canberra with us
If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?
Elemental superpowers- This would allow me to work with all elements; air, water, fire and earth. The options would be endless, climate change or manage my garden
If you could only have three apps on your smartphone, which would you pick?
Google Chrome app, camera and social media
What’s your favourite sport to watch and which team do you barrack for?
MotoGp - Valentino Rossi of course
What’s one hobby you’d love to get into?
Running a hobby farm, just need to find the piece of land
What’s the top destination on your must-visit list?
Having seen a lot of Europe, I would really love to visit South America or head up to Canada and Alaska. Although I always feels like I’m home when I visit anywhere in Europe.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Varies on a daily basis :)
