General News
2 August, 2024
Webster calls for donors
Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster has encouraged Mallee residents to register with DonateLife to be an organ donor during DonateLife week.
Dr Webster has renewed her call for improved organ donation, as she marks five years since her first speech in Federal Parliament promoting donation.
“My first speech on August 1, 2019 coincided with DonateLife week, where I spoke about our first granddaughter Emmeline who received a liver transplant at the tender age of 14 months,” she said.
“The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne was her home for months, and the care she received was exceptional. I am proud of her and we are so grateful to her donor and their family for their gift of life.”
This comes as recent data highlights a lower-than-average donor registration in parts of the Mallee electorate, including in the Central Goldfields, where just over a quarter of residents are registered organ donors.
The figures form part of a Victorian Parliament report published in March, where the national average is 36 percent.
“South Australia’s organ donor registration rate is 72 per cent, as it is the only state where donor registration can be recorded when registering or renewing your driver’s licence,” he said.
“We need national leadership to encourage all states and territories to adopt this life-saving reform.”
To date, 1396 Australians have received organ transplants (including 831 kidney transplants and 129 heart transplants), 2486 corneal transplants and 253 have received liver transplants.
Dr Webster is co-chair with Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander of the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation, and is preparing another event to promote the Australian Transplant Games from October 1 to 6 2024.
To register with DonateLife, you can register through the Medicare app.