Body Parts

The 2010 Australia New Zealand Organ Donor Registry (ANZOD) report indicates that over 40% of the families of registered organ donors do not allow the organs of their loved ones to be donated once they die. That disregard of the donor's wishes - reflecting that the donor is no longer around to enforce his or her wishes - is based on the the requirement that the family of a registered organ donor must give the final consent "before the organs or tissue of a loved one" (or merely the person over whose body rights are being asserted) can be removed. [Reminder to my family: everything's donated!]

The report covers ANZOD activity for 2009. It indicates that during the year there were a mere 247 donors in Australia.

That is equivalent to 11.3 donors per million population [dpmp]. Donors provided 452 kidneys (including four double adult and two en bloc) to 446 recipients), 171 livers (to 185 recipients), 61 hearts (including two heart/lungs), 217 lungs (101 double, two heart/lungs and eleven single lungs) and 37 pancreas and nine pancreas islets. Additionally there were 188 corneas, 45 sets of heart valves and 18 bone donations from these donors.

The figures include six donors who went to the operating theatre but whose organs or tissues were not retrieved: four donors had disease of organs, one donor a suspected malignancy and one a definite malignancy.

The report notes that in the same period the waiting list for donations included 1310 people wanting a kidney, 148 a liver, 41 a heart, 96 a lung and 39 a pancreas.

How did the donations come about, and where from? The major cause of death in 48% of donors was cerebrovascular accident, with road trauma causing 13% of all donor deaths .In 2009 there were 42 donations after cardiac death. Seventeen of those donations occurred in Victoria, 15 in New South Wales, five in Queensland, three in South Australia and two in the Australian Capital Territory.

The highest donor rate was in South Australia, followed by the ACT, Victoria, Queensland, NSW, Tasmania, the NT and Western Australia. The mean age of donors was 45.9 years, median 48.3 years with a range of 0.5 - 80.6 years.

Authority for organ donation was sought in 62% of cases by the Intensive Care Clinician or Registrar, volunteered by the family in 90 (36%) and by the Donor Coordinator (1%) and nursing staff (1%). Coronial inquiries were required in 43% of all donors. The consent rate for specific organs were 100% of kidneys, 100% livers, 95% hearts, 98% lungs and 99.5% pancreas.

Donation of more than one organ occurred in 80% of donors, with the average number of organs transplanted per donor being 3.4.

From donors where organs had been retrieved, 99% of kidneys, 98% of livers, 86% of hearts, 100% of lungs and 42% of pancreas (37 pancreas and nine pancreas islets) were actually transplanted.

60% of the donors had a "known occupation", comprising "students, pre-school, white and blue collar, management, professional, small business owner, primary industry and tradesperson". An additional 13% were retired, 5% were engaged in home duties, 4% were unemployed, 4% had a disability and 14% were unknown.