Donatelife Reaches Out to Australians of Muslim Faith

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PDF printable version of Donatelife Reaches Out to Australians of Muslim Faith (PDF 267 KB)

22 August 2012

Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing Catherine King today launched a video resource to support Australians of Muslim faith in their decision-making and family discussions about organ and tissue donation.

Ms King said the video, Reaching Out, highlights the life-transforming benefits of organ and tissue donation in a way that has resonance and relevance for people of Muslim faith.

“Providing information on organ and tissue donation in a way that has relevance to culturally and linguistically diverse communities is a priority for the Australian Government,” Ms King said.

“I am confident that Reaching Out will encourage Australians of Muslim faith to discover more about organ and tissue donation, make informed donation decisions and, most importantly, discuss their wishes with family members.”

Reaching Out has been produced by the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia (FECCA) in consultation with representatives from Muslim communities in Australia.

It provides different perspectives from people within the Australian Muslim community on organ and tissue donation. It features a doctor, transplant recipients and their families and an expert providing interpretations of Islamic Law.

Commenting on FECCA’s role in developing the resource, the organisation’s Chair, Pino Migliorino, noted, “FECCA is proud to have been involved with this initiative, aimed at promoting organ and tissue donation in Muslim communities. As the peak national body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, FECCA fully endorses the video and encourages all Australians to consider having discussions with their family and friends about organ donation.”

Ms King said that new research commissioned by the Organ and Tissue Authority highlighted the need to improve access to information about organ and tissue donation for Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

“Just 39 per cent of Australians from non-English speaking backgrounds have discussed their donation wishes with family members over the past 12 months, compared with 60 per cent of those from English speaking backgrounds,” Ms King said.

Australians from non-English speaking backgrounds are also less likely to know the donation wishes of family members at just 39%, compared with 56% of all Australian families.

Reaching Out was funded as part of the Organ and Tissue Authority’s Community Awareness Grants Program. It is one of 23 projects focused on addressing barriers to decision making and family discussion within culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Reaching Out can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/donatelifeaustralia.

For more information: www.donatelife.gov.au.

For more information, please contact the Parliamentary Secretary's Office on (02) 6277 4230