What we’re doing about organ and tissue donation
The Australian Government is committed to increasing Australia’s organ and tissue transplantation rates. We are looking at ways to improve the donation and transplantation system, and help save and improve the lives of more Australians.
Policy
In 2018, the Government agreed to an independent review of Australia’s organ donation, retrieval and transplantation system. The review is considering current systems, practices and processes across the sector.
The first phase of the review looked at pre- and post-transplantation services, and identified barriers to equity of access to transplant waiting lists and transplantation services.
Read the Ernst & Young Review of the organ donation, retrieval and transplantation system final report and All Government’s statement.
The second phase will assess the final report’s recommendations, and develop a national strategy.
Ernst & Young also completed a review in 2015. Read the:
- final report on the review of the implementation of the national reform agenda on organ and tissue donation and transplantation
- Government response to the report
PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted an analysis on the Australian tissue sector in 2016. Read the:
- final report on the analysis on the Australian tissue sector
- Government statement on the analysis
Legislation
Human tissue acts govern organ and tissue donation in each Australian state and territory:
- Queensland: Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979
- New South Wales: Human Tissue Act 1983
- Australian Capital Territory: Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1978
- Victoria: Human Tissue Act 1982
- Tasmania: Human Tissue Act 1985
- Northern Territory: Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979
- South Australia: Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1983
- Western Australia: Human Tissue and Transplant Act 1982
Regulation and compliance
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guides ethical standards for donation and clinical practice.
Read the NHMRC guidelines for health professionals and donors.
Initiatives and programs
We support living donors and people who need transplants through the:
Who we work with
Our portfolio agency, the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA), leads the national program to increase and raise awareness of organ and tissue donation.
We work with them to respond to reviews of organ and tissue donation in Australia. We develop actions that the Government will take to help meet the need for donated organs and tissue.
We also work with state and territory governments to ensure Australia has the best systems in place to support organ donation and to get the best transplantation results.
The NHMRC :
- gives evidence-based, authoritative health advice
- sets guidelines and ethical standards
- funds organ and tissue donation and transplantation research projects through its research grants programs
Contact
Supporting Living Organ Donors Program contact
Contact us for more information about the Supporting Living Donors Program.