Organ Donations Remain Low Despite Funding Boost
24 January 2013
Organ Donations Remain Low
Despite Funding Boost
New figures released by Organ
Donation New Zealand show that there were just 38 organ
donors last year.
This is despite the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall announcing a funding boost of 4 million dollars last year to try and raise donor numbers.
New Zealand has one of the lowest organ donor rates in
the developed world. Last year we fared slightly better than
Israel but were behind Cuba and Iceland.
Spain has
approximately 32 donors per million of population, compared
with our 9.
Organ Donor Campaigner Andy Tookey is not surprised by the continued low donor rates.
“We have exactly the same number of donors as we did
ten years ago.
Parliament’s Health Select Committee, in
response to my petition were equally concerned and made a
number of recommendations, one of which was a public
awareness campaign.
Ten years on from that report we
still have had no progress.”
“There are plenty
more potential donors, but we know that up to 60% do not
become donors because families refuse consent.
A public
awareness campaign would encourage families to discuss their
wishes with each other and maybe lessen that refusal
rate.”
Mr Tookey is also concerned that the Minister of Health is ‘putting all of his eggs in one basket’ by giving in to continued extra funding requests by the Organ Donor Service with no increase in outcome.
“It is time to try other initiatives to increase the
organ donor rate such as paying the funeral expenses of
organ donors. More people would be prepared to discuss being
a donor with their family if they knew that the financial
burden of a funeral would be taken off their family at an
already tragic time.
“It’s ironic that many people
already get a funeral grant from either being a beneficiary
or from ACC, but donors who go on to save the lives of, or
improve the quality of life for up to ten people get nothing
in recognition of their contribution to society.” Said Mr
Tookey.
ENDS