26 October 2011

Organ donation streamlining

| johnboy
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Organ donation is a touchy subject. The great and the good are mad keen on it which from time to time (think Kerry Packer) arouses a suspicion in the wider population that they’re slavering after our organs (as per above Monty Python skit).

Having said that Katy Gallagher’s latest plan to “streamline” the organ donation process seem quite sensible.

“The first amendment to the Transplantation and Anatomy Amendment Bill 2011 seeks to increase the number of designated officers who can authorise the removal of organs and tissue from the body of a deceased person in an ACT hospital for the purpose of transplantation to a living person or for other therapeutic, medical or scientific purposes,” the Chief Minister said.

“This will enable health professionals, such as senior registered nurses at level 3.2 or above, to hold the responsibility of a designated officer, thereby increasing the number, availability and accessibility of designated officers for the purpose of organ and tissue donation in the ACT.

“The second part of the amendments proposed allows authorised and trained tissue retrievalists to retrieve all tissue, including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, eye and skin tissue, and not just eye tissue, for the purpose of corneal transplantation.

“This amendment is required to allow authorised staff to retrieve all tissue in a timely manner which will greatly increase the retrieval rates of tissue for donation in the ACT.

“The bill aims is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, timely delivery and quality of services in the organ and tissue donation sector in the ACT, and to increase organ and tissue donation and retrieval rates overall,” the Chief Minister said.

meaning of life

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Looking at transplant website information it seems only one percent of deaths might be candidates for organ harvesting (you still have to be physically alive for them to start cutting – brain dead but heart still beating). I’m looking forward to better technology development so that they don’t have to rely on human tissue and solve these problems with artificial “organs” which would solve the problem of short supply and rejection.

While I was also under the impression the process described in #1 is what happens – ie that any close family with objections can veto organ donation – I just had a read of s27 of the Transplantation and Anatomy Act and can’t actually see where the NOK gets any power of revocation under part (1)?? Part (2) only applies if a person has not already signed up to be an organ donor.

+1 from me also.

Katy, although this is a badly needed streamlining, what about changing the laws? As it stands now, if I choose to donate my organs when I die, anyone of my family can veto my wishes. Obviously I won’t be able to say anything about it! What about protecting the rights of the donor?

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