Wynnum donor remembered for giving gift of sight as organ donations soar

Queenslanders rallied behind organ and tissue donation last year with a record surge in organ registrations.

Queenslanders rallied behind organ and tissue donation last year with a record surge in people registering on the Australian Organ Donor Register.

Wynnum resident Margie Kruger knows all about the importance of registering to be an organ donor.

In 2007, Margie’s then partner Debbie, passed away while waiting for a lung transplant.

Debbie was able to give the gift of sight through eye donation.

Since then, Margie has been a strong advocate for raising awareness around organ and tissue donation, and in March will hold a Gift of Life Walk in Manly.

Fast Facts

Queensland Donor Statistics

• 86 Queenslanders who died last year became organ donors, saving the lives of 253 Australians.
• Challenges associated with COVID-19 resulted in small declines in both the number of transplant recipients Qlders saved (-16%) and donors (-19%) in Queensland.
• Staff worked exhaustively to develop new ways of delivering compassionate end-of-life care, and to minimise the disruption to the organ transplant program.
• The proportion of Qld families who consented to organ donation last year remained steady at 62%.
• 419 Queenslanders donated their eyes and 102 donated tissue providing lifechanging procedures to recipients.
  
  

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Queensland Registration Statistics

• Almost 40,000 Queenslanders registered as potential organ donors in 2020. This was down from 48,900 in 2019.
  
  
• There are now 1.2M Queenslanders on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).
  
  
• 7 in 10 Qlders support donation, but less than 1 in 3 are actually registered. We need to close this gap!
  
  
• 9 out of 10 families proceed with donation when their loved one is registered. This drops to 4 out of 10 when family don't know their loved ones wishes.
  
  
• Registration is easy and takes less than a minute at www.donatelife.gov.au with your Medicare Card number.

 

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National Donor Statistics

• 463 deceased organ donors saved the lives of 1270 Australians in 2020.
  
  
• Despite the disruption of COVID-safe restrictions and the six-week suspension of kidney transplantation, the overall decline in people receiving their organ transplants was 12%. The number of donors decreased by 16%.
  
  
• When asked to donate, around 58% of families said 'yes' to donation.
  
  
• The long-term trend for organ donation continues to be one of growth.

“This walk is all about raising community awareness, to get people thinking about those on the transplant waitlist, those waiting for the gift of life and for others to consider whether they would want to give that gift if the circumstance arose in the future where they could be a donor,” Margie said. 

“This walk is about taking time to consider whether you want to register on the Australian Organ Donor Register.

“Without the thoughtfulness and generosity of donors and their families, people will die waiting. I want this walk to get people talking about organ and tissue donation with their friends and family.

“I want everyone to be encouraged to think about how a simple decision can completely change another person’s life.”

Almost 74,000 Queenslanders registered to become organ and tissue donors, an 85 per cent increase on the previous year.

It shattered the previous record of almost 49,000 new registrations in 2019.

Margie Kruger, in the middle with the black shirt on, and fellow walkers in the inaugural Gift of Life walk in 2021 on the Manly foreshore.

The timing of the increases indicated the success of The Great Registration Race awareness raising events during DonateLife Week and the number of people registering while uploading their Covid vaccination certificates on the Medicare Express App.

There was also a significant increase in the number of people in Redland, Moreton Bay, Brisbane and Ipswich council areas registering in January this year compared to last year.

In Brisbane, there were 848 in January 2021 compared to 1542 this year or an 82 per cent increase.

In Ipswich, registrations went up from 139 to 251 and in Logan numbers doubled from 161 to 323.

There were 528 registrations in Moreton Bay, a rise of 293 in January compared to last year and in Redland numbers rose from 88 to 219.

Oliver Howe, aged 10, has had three liver lifesaving liver transplants. PHOTO: John Gass

The benefactors of this huge registration drive — eternally grateful people like Courtney Young and Oliver Howe.

Cheeky 10-year-old Oliver Howe has undergone three life saving liver transplants in his short life.

For mother Nichole Sutcliffe each of them have drastically impacted her little boy’s life.

“Without them I wouldn’t have Oliver and that is how simple it is,” she said.

Meanwhile, Courtney Young was 15 when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and she never imagined it would leave her on the verge of death for five years.

However, after enduring a rollercoaster of health issues, including dialysis, she was gifted a kidney and pancreas transplant.

“It is not about death, it is about giving life. I’d encourage everyone to chat with their family so if something happens you can make the decision and maybe chance the lives of people who never thought they would get that opportunity,” Ms Young said.

Courtney Young waited five years to be saved by her donor after battling type 1 diabetes for 20 years. PHOTO: John Gass

DonateLife Queensland state manager Tina Coco said she was extremely grateful for the community support, and appreciative of the Quest readership who supported the New Year’s Resolution Campaign by registering on the Australian Organ Donor Register in January.

“Navigating the pandemic for the last two years has been particularly challenging for the DonateLife network,” Ms Coco said.

“We are extremely grateful to see the Queensland community show its support with an extra 73,736 people signing up as potential organ and tissue donors last year as well as a strong start to registration numbers in 2022.”

Ms Coco said last year the generosity of 91 Queensland organ donors and their families gifted life to 275 Australians who received transplants.

Around 479 eye donors and 138 tissue donors also supported Queensland Tissue Bank’s team to provide donated eyes and tissue for life-changing procedures to more than 2000 grateful recipients.