Northern Victoria MP Gaelle Broad has urged people to register for organ donation in light of a new
inquiry into donation rates in Victoria.
The Parliament’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is seeking submissions to its inquiry into
improving organ and tissue donation rates until May 19.
“This is a timely reminder to seriously consider organ donation,” Ms Broad said.
The Committee is keen to receive input on the effectiveness of the current model for registering to
be an organ and tissue donor in Victoria, as well as the issues that impact donation rates in the state.
“Just one organ donor can save up to seven lives – that in itself is an amazing outcome,” she said.
“In addition, many more can be helped through tissue donation.
“These figures make it essential that we try to increase the amount of people who are registered to
be donors,” Ms Broad said.
“Australia has a high transplantation success rate and most Australians support organ and tissue
donation. However, only around 36 per cent nationally and 23 per cent in Victoria are registered
donors. That’s the second lowest registration rate of all states and territories.
According to the Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report 2022, around 1,800
Australians are currently waitlisted for an organ transplant.
The Committee’s inquiry comes at a time when organ donation rates have been affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of organ donors and transplants in Australia decreasing by 15
per cent. While this rose slightly in 2022, by 8 per cent for organ donors and 4 per cent for people
who received transplants, there is a real opportunity to improve registration.
The Committee is accepting written submissions until May 19. The full terms of reference are
available on the Committee’s website: Inquiry into increasing the number of registered organ and tissue
donors (parliament.vic.gov.au)
OTA 2022 Donation and Transplantation Activity Report.pdf (donatelife.gov.au)
Media Contact: Linda Barrow 0484 303 764 linda.barrow@parliament.vic.gov.au
