Record number of Aussies registered to donate organs and tissues, but some still wait for the life-changing donor

Daljeet Kaur has been patiently waiting to receive the phone call that will change her life — but now her health rests in the hands of a generous stranger.

It takes one minute to save a life.

And a record breaking 350,000 Australians took that minute last year to register as lifesaving organ and tissue donors.

New South Wales was the most generous state, with 110,331 people registering to become organ donors, followed by Victoria (88,278), Queensland (73,736) and South Australia (31, 244).

The 2021 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report, released Thursday, also reveals 1174 people received donations nationally from 421 deceased donors.

Organ and Tissue Authority chief executive Lucinda Barry said the increase in registrations by 87 per cent from 2020 came down mainly to two reasons.

She said that during the authority’s DonateLife Week digital campaign last year, 108,000 Australians registered, as well as the thousands who register as organ and tissue donors while accessing their MyGov accounts to download their Covid-19 digital certificates.

“In such a challenging year for all Australians, it was great to see a record number of people registering and showing their support,” Ms Barry said.

“We know that 90 per cent of families say “yes” to donation if you are registered. This number is halved if they don’t know.”

In the past year, there were also 1472 deceased eye donors, 331 deceased tissue donors, as well as 203 living organ donors and 2994 living tissue donors.

However, Covid-19 impacted the number of donors and transplants due to travel restrictions and surgery halts.

“Over the past year, there has been a nine per cent drop in the number of organ donors and a 7 per cent drop in the number of people receiving an organ transplant,” Ms Barry said.

Approximately 170,000 Australians die each year, with around 80,000 of these deaths occurring in Australian hospitals – a prerequisite for qualifying as a suitable donor.

Only two per cent of these hospital deaths can be considered for organ donation and in 2020, this meant only about 1250 people died in a way where organ donation could have been considered.

Requests to families were made in 1170 cases, with 655 families saying “yes”. Of these, 421 became eligible donors, saving the lives of 1174 organ recipients.

“We know that 90 per cent of families say “yes” to donation if you are registered. This number is halved if they don’t know,” Ms Barry said.

“Going forward our national focus is to do all that we can to see donation and transplantation rates returning to pre-pandemic levels.

“We expect this recovery will span multiple years, while we continue to navigate existing and emerging challenges due to Covid-19.”

Federal Regional Health Minister Dr David Gillespie said there were more than 1800 Australians still languishing on waiting lists, with another 13,000 on dialysis.

“The best chance we have to address the challenge of the longer waitlist is to have more Australians say “yes” to donation,” Dr Gillespie.

“Both yes to registering as a donor and families saying yes in the hospital, if there is the opportunity to donate.”

DALJEET WAITS IN HOPE

Daljeet Kaur has been patiently waiting for a year to receive the phone call that will change her life.

The 41-year-old from Sydney had her life turned upside down last year after she was put on peritoneal dialysis for chronic kidney disease, following her initial diagnosis in 2018.

The news came as a shock to Mrs Kaur and her husband Dalvir, given there was no family history of the disease.

Daljeet Kaur has been patiently waiting for a year to receive the phone call that will change her life.

Her life is now potentially in the hands of a generous stranger, as she waits to receive a match for a lifesaving transplant.

“When things are going fine, you don’t tend to think about the wait, but when you have medical issues as part of dialysis or any other problems, then you get more desperate to know when that phone call will come our way,” the mother of two said.

Mrs Kaur said she hoped that by sharing her story, more Australians will come forward and register as organ donors.

“There are so many patients waiting and registering to become a donor will go a long way in offering a second life to so many people who are eagerly waiting for organs,” she said.

“This good deed will go a long way in helping people that are impacted on a daily basis and their extended family is struggling to lead a normal life.”

GIFT THAT SAVED MAIA’S LIFE

Maia Govan was never meant to reach kindergarten this year.

But it was a generous family’s decision to donate the liver of their child, who had passed away, that would save the little girl’s life.

The three-year-old was born with a rare genetic condition, propionic academia, with her body unable to process certain proteins and fats properly.

Even the tiniest amount of breast milk could send her into a metabolic crisis, risking damage to her brain and other organs.

Maia’s first three months were spent in the intensive care unit where she was tube fed, before she underwent a life-changing liver transplant at 20 months.

“Maia had a paediatric donor … a family in that situation, at the most traumatic time in their life, has made a decision that helped save our daughter’s life,” mum Tara Duke said.

“You can‘t clearly put into words how to say thank you. Hopefully hearing our story, people will start the conversation with families and share how important this decision can be.

Tara Duke with Maia, who is one of the many Australians whose lives have been transformed by an organ donor, receiving a liver transplant.

“It only takes a minute to register or check you are registered for organ donation and share your wishes with your family and loved ones.”

The family is sharing their story in hopes of raising awareness about the importance of organ donation.

“Maia is walking with the assistance of a walker, eating more food orally and needing tube feeds less frequently,” Ms Duke said.

“She is cheeky and full of energy and is catching up with her peers one milestone at a time.”

Originally published as Record number of Aussies registered to donate organs and tissues, but some still wait for the life-changing donor