While the thought of the end of your life is something that most of us don’t want to think about, what is true, is that it can create a new lease on life for others.
Every year, the number of Queenslanders waiting for an organ transplant is growing. While Australia has a relatively low organ donation rate compared to other countries, attitudes are gradually changing.
In the last few years, Australia has adopted laws so that people suffering terminal conditions can access Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) where they choose the timing at the end their life. VAD was enacted in Queensland in January 2023, and, those who have chosen this pathway can also choose to donate their organs so others may live.
Australia is the fifth country in the world to enable this practice, with Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, and Spain having programs that allow for donation after VAD.
It is estimated more than 300 people worldwide have donated organs after VAD, resulting in around 1,000 additional people receiving life-saving transplants.
Tina Coco is the Nursing Director and State Manager of DonateLife Queensland, which is the co-ordinating agency for organ and tissue donation throughout the state. For more than three decades she has been at the forefront of seeing lives changed through the generosity of others.
“Organ donation is lifesaving,” Ms Coco said. “But it is a rare opportunity, with less than 2% of the population dying in ICU under circumstances where organ donation is possible, that is why we want to encourage the entire community to consider organ and tissue donation.
“We encourage everyone to talk about it with their loved ones and make a decision. It can be a very difficult time for a family if they don’t know what their wishes in life were about donation.
“By signing up as a donor, which takes less than a minute, and making your decision known to your family, your family will be more likely to respect your wishes and will have one less difficult decision to make at what is already a traumatic time for them.
“One person who agrees to donate their organs can save up to seven lives. Australia wide there are around 1800 people waiting for organ transplants, and it’s a list that grows; even though we are able to help people, more patients are added to the waitlist.”
With Voluntary Assisted Dying, the number of donations will be low, due to the medical reasons a person has chosen to go down this pathway.
“You still have to be medically suitable for organ donation after accessing VAD. Most people accessing VAD are choosing to do so due to a terminal illness, which might not make them suitable for organ donation. However, tissue donation is more likely to be suitable.
Tina has been working in this field for over 30 years and finds it a rewarding career.
“Amidst the grief of losing someone, families make the choice to help total strangers and their generosity still humbles me to this day,” she said.
“For donor families, our DonateLife team are here to support them for as long as they need.”
There are many generous Queenslanders that would like to be able to help others through organ and tissue donation. Donation after VAD offers the opportunity to more people if they are medically able to donate.
It’s not just organs that can be donated, tissue donation is another life-saving opportunity.
“With tissue donation, you can donate eye bone and skin tissue, plus heart tissue. You don’t have to die in an Intensive Care Unit or a hospital and it can happen up to 24 hours after death,” Ms Coco said.
“Tissue donation can restore sight, rebuild tendons and bones, save the lives of burns victims, and fix heart defects in babies and children.”
One of the major reasons that donation can hit a wall, is when someone has died and didn’t tell their family of their wishes.
Data shows that 9 out of 10 families consent to donation if their loved one is registered and had discussed this with family, but this drops to 4 out of 10 if they don’t know what they wanted.
“What we find with many families is that they never had that conversation with their loved ones about their donation wishes. We have the Australian Organ Donor Register, which is managed by Medicare, where you can say yes or no to organ donation, and also specify which organs or tissues you want to donate,” Ms Coco said.
“We encourage people to make that decision so that we can say to families, at the end of their loved one’s life, that they wanted to donate, or that they didn’t want to. Ultimately, we are supporting their wishes.
“The website is easy to use, and it only takes 60 seconds to register. Then you can have that conversation with your family and say, I’ve done this, this is what I want”.
Tina hopes that eventually all states will be able to make donation after VAD possible.
“Organ donation saves so many lives,” Tina said. “Think about it. Make the decision. Sign onto the Australian Organ Donor Register and tell someone you love about your decision.”