There are almost 2,000 people in Australia on organ transplant waiting lists at any given time. Some of them will die waiting!
The Australian Organ Donor Register is Australia’s only national Organ and Tissue Donor Register, and serves as a lifeline to the people on those waiting lists.
Registering
is the first crucial step!
The Australian Organ Donor Register is administered by Medicare Australia on behalf of the Australian Government, and provides a simple way for people to record their consent (or objection) to becoming an organ and/or tissue donor.
In January 2005, Australian Health Ministers agreed that the Australian Organ Donor Register would become a Register of Consent, enabling individuals to record their legal decision to becoming an organ or tissue donor after death. The Register became operational as a consent register from July 2005.
Health Ministers agreed that the Australian Organ Donor Register would be the only national register for organ and/or tissue donation.
The Donor Register ensures that your consent (or objection) to donating organs and/or tissue for transplantation can be verified 24 hours a day, seven days a week by authorised medical personnel, anywhere in Australia. In the event of your death, information about your decision is accessed from the Donor Register, and provided to your family. It is important that you talk with your family before registering your decision.
* How to Register
Visit your local Medicare office, where you can pick up a Donor Register brochure and Registration Form
Telephone: 1800 777 203
To request a registration form to be mailed to you, please email your full name and postal address to aodr@medicareaustralia.gov.au
* Change of Registration Details
If you wish to change any of your Registration Details, you can change your details on the Donor Register by:
- downloading a new Registration or Change of Details Form (97k);
- picking up a new Registration or Change of Details Form from any Medicare office;
- Phoning 1800 777 203;
- or contacting us by email aodr@medicareaustralia.gov.au
* Changing Your Details
If at any time you change your mind about donation, you can change your details on the Donor Register by:
- downloading a new Registration or Change of Details Form (97k)
- picking up a new Registration or Change of Details Form from any Medicare office
- phoning 1800 777 203
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I consider donating my organs and/or tissue?
For people with serious or life-threatening illnesses, organ or tissue transplantation could mean a second chance at life. More than 30,000 Australians have received transplants in the last 60 years. Improved survival rates, now mean that most organ or tissue recipients enjoy many years of high-quality life after their transplant.
By choosing to record your consent to donate on the Donor Register, you could help up to 10 other people.
Why should I discuss donation with my family, partner or friend?
It is important to discuss your decision with your family, partner, or close friend. They will be an important part of the donation process, and therefore, should be made aware of your consent (or objection).
Your family member, partner or friend may be asked about your decision to be an organ and/or tissue donor, to confirm that you had not changed your mind since you recorded your consent (or objection). They may be asked questions regarding your medical history, to determine which organs and/or tissue may be suitable for transplantation. The more family members who know of your decision to donate organs and/or tissue for transplantation, the more likely it is that it will occur, and the more reassured they are likely to be by your decision.
While the Donor Register offers a simple and accessible method of recording a person's decision about donation, it is still important for potential donors to discuss the issue with their family, partner or friend. Where a potential donor has made their decision clear, experience shows their family, partner or friend will be more comfortable at the time donation is actively considered.
If I become an organ donor, will my organs and/or tissue be used for research purposes?
No. Separate and specific permission is required for donated organs and tissue to be used for research purposes. Donated tissue and organs will not be used for medical research, unless explicit written permission is granted.
Will I have to pay to be an organ donor?
There are no costs associated with becoming an organ donor.
Who can donate organs and tissue?
Anyone can choose to donate organs and tissue – there is no age limit on the donation of some organs and tissue. While your age and medical history will be considered, you shouldn’t assume you are too old or not healthy enough.
Who can register on the Australian Organ Donor Register?
To ensure consent is legally valid, only people aged 18 years and over will be able to record their consent on the Donor Register. Registrations of Intent will be accepted from people aged 16 and 17 years, but in these cases, consent from families will still be needed for transplantation to take place.
Recording your decision on the Register is voluntary, and individuals can limit their donation to only certain organs or tissue. The potential donor has complete choice over which organs and tissue they are prepared to donate.
Donation can involve:
organs – which include kidneys, heart, lungs, liver and pancreas; and
tissue – which include heart valves, bone tissue, skin and eye tissue.
When can organ and tissue donation occur?
Organ and tissue donation can only occur after death. The way in which a person dies, will generally determine what they are able to donate. In most cases, organs (heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys) can only be donated if a person has died in an Intensive Care Unit under special circumstances. Less than 1% of all people who die in hospital each year, die this way.
Most commonly, organ donation is only considered after several tests are carried out by two appropriately qualified senior doctors, to establish whether brain death has occurred.
Brain death occurs when the brain stops functioning, with no possibility of recovery, and is very different from a coma.
People are sometimes concerned or confused about the difference between brain death and coma.
A patient in a coma is unconscious, because their brain is injured in some way, although their brain continues to function, and may heal. Medical tests on a patient can clearly show the difference between brain death and coma.
A greater number of people have the opportunity to donate tissues for transplantation, such as eye tissue, heart valves, bone tissue and skin tissue. This is because tissue donation does not require the same special circumstances as organs usually do for transplantation to be successful.
How are organs and tissue removed?
The removal of organs and tissue is no different from any other surgical operation, and is performed by highly skilled health professionals. The donor’s body is always treated with respect and dignity. The donation of organs and tissue does not alter the physical appearance of the body.
What if I’m already registered as a donor elsewhere?
It is important that you register your consent (or objection) to be an organ and/or tissue donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register. This is the only national register for organ and tissue donation for transplantation.
Even if you have expressed an intention to donate organs or tissue by some other means in the past, (eg by ticking a box on a driver’s licence renewal), you will need to record your consent (or objection) on the National Donor Register.
Who can access the information held on the Donor Register?
Information recorded on the Donor Register can be accessed via a secure Internet site by authorised personnel, who have signed confidentiality agreements covering the access and use of personal information. They are authorised by a Management Committee comprising representatives from Medicare Australia; the Department of Health and Ageing; and State Organ Donation Agencies.
Which organs and tissue can be donated?
Organs: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas.
Tissue: heart valves, bone tissue, skin tissue, and eye tissue.
Click here if you require more information about any aspect of organ and tissue donation.
The time has come for me to say goodbye
to this life that I have known.
My spirit soon must travel on,
to where my body cannot go.
I have enjoyed a richness of life,
with a body that served me so well.
How fortunate I was to have been blessed
with a body that worked as it should.
My eyes have allowed me to be able to see…
My ears… to be able to hear.
I've been able to do all of the things
I wanted my body to do.
Other people have not been as fortunate.
So much, that I took for granted…
they have never been able to do.
Body parts that I'll soon discard,
can allow them to have a richer life!
The body parts which served me so well,
haven't reached their use-by date…
Many parts can be recycled,
to give someone else a richer life.
As my spirit moves on to yet another life…
and my body is left behind…
let my discarded body parts be used,
to give someone else a more fuller life!
Recycled Body Parts
Tom Petersen
