HELEN OPDAM, NATIONAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR THE AUSTRALIAN ORGAN AND TISSUE AUTHORITY: Hey, welcome everybody. My name is Dr Helen Opdam. I'm the National Medical Director with the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, which is a government organisation that is responsible for the National Donate Life program, and I'd like to begin today firstly by acknowledging that we're meeting today on the lands of the Muwinina people and I pay my respects to Elders past and present and all First Nations people present today. And I'd particularly like to acknowledge the Royal Hobart Hospital for hosting the launch of Donate Life Week for 2025. Today we're joined by the Assistant Minister for and Aged Care, the Honourable Rebecca White, who is the Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority and the National Donate Life program, and we also have two very special people. It's my privilege and honour to be able to introduce to you Mr Cuan Van Staden, who is one of 1800 Australians on the organ transplant waiting list, waiting for that call for that life-saving, life-changing opportunity to receive an organ transplant, and then we have someone from the other side who's actually received a transplant. We've got Ms Brooke Dillon here today who received her life-changing transplant, a kidney transplant in 2022. I'd like to formally now introduce and hand over to Honourable Rebecca White, again the Minister for Health and Aged Care, who I know is a keen advocate for organ and tissue donation. Thanks Rebecca.
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Thanks Helen. Good morning everybody. I'm really proud to be standing here to launch Donate Life Week in Tasmania. Tasmania has a really proud history of registering to be an organ donor and also here at the Royal Hobart Hospital they perform life-saving procedures that have helped to support 25 donations occur last year which is a record for this hospital. Today is really about encouraging people to register to become an organ and tissue donor. We know that across the country about four in five people identify that they would like to be or are very happy to be an organ donor but only about one in three Australians are registered. It is really important to jump on to Donate Life and register. You can do it through your Medicare online site but make that you don't just assume that because you've registered to get your driver's licence that you're also an organ donor. That's no longer the case in most states across the country and we're encouraging people to jump on to the Donate Life website and register. It's also really important to have a conversation with your family. What we know is that even for people who have registered to become an organ and tissue donor, unless you have a conversation with your family, it can be really difficult for that to be agreed to once you're in a position where you might be able to provide life-saving organs and tissues to somebody else. So have a conversation with your family, register at Donate Life and you could save somebody else's life. And we are joined today by Brooke and of course Cuan who's waiting for a transplant, and these are examples of the human faces of people who have benefited from somebody else's life-saving decision to be a donor, but also somebody who's one of the 1800 people currently on the waiting list, hoping that they might get that important call that could help them live a better and more productive life and know that they might be able to live on with the memory of somebody else being able to say they were the donor that helped change somebody's life. I'll pass back to Helen, and Helen and I are both happy to take any questions at the end.
OPDAM: Thanks so much Rebecca, they're really important messages. I'd now like to introduce Cuan to come and talk about his experience of being on the organ transplant waiting list. Cuan, thanks.
CUAN VAN STADEN, ON THE ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST: Thanks everyone for coming. So about maybe six years ago it became evident that my kidneys were slowly shutting down and I'd eventually end up in dialysis. Well, they were first hoping to get a live transplant through my father, but for whatever reason that didn't work out. So I ended up on the donor list and there was a bit of a work up to get to that. I first had to go, well, start dialysis. I first started on hemodialysis and then four months on that I then got changed to peritoneal dialysis and I'm currently on that now, doing that from home every day for about nine hours, eight and a half, nine hours a day, which is really good. It's really sort of freed up my days. Instead of having to go in to do dialysis, I do it all from home overnight. So yeah.
JOURNALIST: Are we able to ask you a few questions about it?
VAN STADEN: Yeah, yeah.
JOURNALIST: So how long have you been on the wait list?
VAN STADEN: So I've been on the wait list for about 18 months. Yeah, it'll be two years in September.
JOURNALIST: Can you talk us through if that's had a toll on your sort of mental health and wellbeing, being on that waiting list for so long?
VAN STADEN: It has and it hasn't. I try not to think about it too much and I try to keep myself busy with other things, like I've really gotten into bush walking and I don't know if you're familiar with the Ables. I've been trying to tick all those off while I've been kind of waiting but also not trying to get too far away from-because I could get that phone call at any time, I guess. So I'd have to be present for that.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, I was going to ask you, is it as simple as waiting for a phone call to get the final tick off? And what- if you were to get that phone call soon, what would that feeling be like for you?
VAN STADEN: It is kind of just waiting for a phone call and I seem to get a lot of phone calls. And you've got to answer every phone call that comes. But yeah, I try not to think about it too much. Otherwise I feel like I get a bit depressed and not that I am depressed but yeah. And I kind of think well when it does come will I sort of freak out about it or like- yeah, I don't know.
JOURNALIST: And is it encouraging to see programs like Donate Life raising awareness about organ donations?
VAN STADEN: Yeah, it is. It sort of gives you hope I guess, or that there's organisations out there that are pushing to - I don't know, yeah.
JOURNALIST: If you were to get the phone call, would you get the transfer here or you have to travel to the mainland to get it?
VAN STADEN: I'd have to travel to the mainland, to Melbourne to get it, yeah.
JOURNALIST: And if you were talking to somebody who was kind of weighing up whether to be a donor, what would you say to persuade them?
VAN STADEN: Well, look, you can save someone's life or change- well, more than one person really, through your actions, you can change someone's life or you change my life.
OPDAM: Thanks so much, Cuan. Organ failure could happen to any of us at any time, just like it's happened to Cuan. And I think the importance of thinking if we want access to transplantation for Cuan, for us all in the community, we need to be willing to be donors as well because otherwise the whole system doesn't work. I'd now like to introduce Brooke who can tell us about her experience in happily having received a kidney transplant. Thanks Brooke.
BROOKE DILLON, TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: When I was born, I was born with multiple different medical conditions and by the age of 14, one those medical conditions led to me finding out that I had kidney disease. And then by the time I was 22, I started dialysis. And then when I was 23 I received my transplant. Before my transplant I was sleeping a lot all during the day. I wouldn't get out of bed until midday and then I'd have to go back to bed not long after. I couldn't live, I couldn't enjoy my life. I just didn't feel well enough to. I couldn't eat properly, couldn't do a lot of things. I couldn't do my everyday tasks without feeling tired. So receiving my transplant meant that it gave me a life that I wasn't able to live before. I'm able to get up, see a sunrise, enjoy my day. I'm able to plan out my life now, which is something I was not able to do before. I'm able to travel. I was able to travel only months after my transplant, once I got back to Hobart, which is the first thing my nephrologist said to me. You can book your trip now. You can go. So, yeah, I'm able to travel to see my family in Western Australia. Yeah. I always encourage people to register to be a donor because it really does change someone's life and it really does give them a life that probably they didn't have before and I'll always be thankful to my donor and my donor family for making that choice, making the choice to give someone a second chance at life.
JOURNALIST: What was it like receiving that phone call that you were a recipient of an offer of donation?
DILLON: I was at dialysis when I received my call. Within four hours of receiving the call, I was in Melbourne. I actually felt quite calm. My heart rate went through the roof, but I actually felt quite calm receiving the call. Yeah, because I had many operations before in my life, it just was going through the motions of like, right, I've got to get to Melbourne, sort myself out, get to the hospital, make sure that I'm doing everything right, following all the rules.
JOURNALIST: How long ago did you get the call?
DILLON: It was three and a bit years ago since I've had my transplant.
JOURNALIST: And were you waiting on that list for long before that call?
DILLON: No, I wasn't. I was very fortunate to not have to wait long at all.
JOURNALIST: Did you ever find out who the donor family was? I don't know how that works.
DILLON: No, in Australia it's all anonymous as to who you donor and donor family are. Yeah, you're not allowed to find out.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned that you're so thankful, but if you could meet them, what would you say? And I suppose the same question that I asked you too is if people are considering being a donor, how would you persuade them?
DILLON: if I did meet my donor family, I would just simply want to say thank you. I mean, in that moment you would probably be lost for words. But yeah, if I could encourage people to come become a donor, like I said, it just - it changes people's lives. Not only mine, but my family, my close friends, everyone around me as well.
JOURNALIST: Thanks Brooke. Sorry, can I- sorry, can I just ask something? Can you describe the recovery process from your transplant?
DILLON: My recovery from my transplant, for me personally, it was quite easy. I spent five weeks in Melbourne and then I came back here and was managed by my medical team here in Hobart.
JOURNALIST: Thank you so much.
OPDAM: Thanks so much, Brooke, and also Cuan, for sharing your stories. And I think they really typify the great need that exists in Australia with 1800 people active on the organ transplant waiting list, waiting for that call that could be life-saving or as you heard, particularly from Brooke's story, life-restoring, life-changing. There's an additional 14,000 people with kidney failure on dialysis, many of whom would also benefit from a kidney transplant and we can all make a big difference simply by registering to be a donor. We know that four in five Australians are supportive of donations, but only one in three are currently registered. Registering makes a big difference. It makes it clear to everyone, to your family, that you're willing to be a donor. As an intensive care specialist, sometimes I find myself talking to families about whether their family member, their loved one, would want to be a donor, and they don't know. They've never talked about it and it can be a really difficult decision to make at a challenging time. For families that have had that discussion and particularly if their relative has registered, it makes that difficult decision easier. People want to honour the choices of the people they love. So the call out to everyone in Australia is please consider being a donor, register on the Australian Organ Donor Register. It only takes a minute at donatelife.gov.au or you can do it through your Medicare account and please tell your family your decision that you're willing to be a donor. Myself and Rebecca White are available for questions and we're happy to do one-on-one media afterwards.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any, and maybe Rebecca might know, but specific questions- specific numbers with people on the waiting list in Tasmania?
OPDAM: Yeah, I don't have the exact data for Tasmania. I'm sure there's quite a number of people and we were just talking previously, I think there are quite good services here in Australia for people with kidney failure on dialysis and there's outreach services from Melbourne for people with heart and lung and liver failure who again are in need of those life-saving organ transplants but I don't have the exact numbers at hand, I apologise.
JOURNALIST: Do you have an average time of the waitlist?
OPDAM: Look, it's very variable. Often for people waiting for a kidney transplant, it can be some years. It would be quite common for people to wait two, three, four years. I hope for Cuan his wait is to be less than that and I think Brooke was extraordinarily fortunate to be able to receive a transplant fairly quickly. It's a terrible thing to be waiting, I imagine. We’ve made a lot of improvements in Australia but I know we can do even more, we can do better than what we're doing currently.
JOURNALIST: How much of an increase do we need to see in registrations to adequately meet the need?
OPDAM: So currently 36 per cent of adults in Australia, people 16 years and older are registered. If we could increase that to 50 per cent, that would result in more than 200 additional people receiving organ transplants each year.
JOURNALIST: Donate Life Week, what do you encourage the public to do during that week to spread awareness? How can they participate?
OPDAM: Yeah, look, I think, well, firstly, think for themselves. Are they willing to be a donor? Register, you can do that. It only takes a minute at donatelife.gov.au or on your Medicare account. Talk to your family. It doesn't have to be a big, complex conversation. It could be triggered by just some media that people have seen. They could think, yeah, that's something that I would be willing to do, I'd want to help other people or, gee, if I needed a transplant, I hope someone out there will have been willing to be a donor so that I could get that chance, or my family. And promote it through your social media accounts, have a conversation with friends. We really want to get the word out there. We know Australians are very generous people. They want to help their family and others in their community. So I think it's really just one of awareness and doing a bit more to have a conversation about it.
JOURNALIST: Has the fact that it's come off licences I believe in a couple of states, does that hinder the amount of people that we see might be organ donors?
OPDAM: It's possible to still register through the driver's licence system only in South Australia. In fact, South Australia probably because of that is doing really well, 74 per cent of adults in South Australia are registered through, I think, it being aided through the ease of the driver's licence mechanism. That compares with a registration rate of 36 per cent across the rest of the country and we are certainly advocating and in conversation with governments to consider mechanisms. Where we talk about mass registration where it's really easy and quick for people to register and certainly the driver's licence is one that people often, sometimes people think they are registered through that mechanism because of the ability to have done that historically.
JOURNALIST: So we've heard that even when they do get the call there is still that additional travel to Melbourne. Is there a push to get those sort of resources here so that isn't an added pressure?
WHITE: No doubt when you get that call you want to be within close range of a hospital so that you can get that life-saving donation. Melbourne is a place where we provide most of those surgeries because you've got the expert clinical team. We want to make sure these surgeries are successful and we know in Tasmania we've had a record number of donors last year of 25 which at a rate per million population is actually one of the best in the world, not just in the country, but we have had per our rate of population a very high rate of registration and donation and that's something to be really proud of. And also to highlight, to encourage other people across the country to register, to make sure they can also be a life-saving donor if the opportunity presents. But fundamentally we want people who are waiting on the waiting list being matched with a donor that is suitable for them, and getting that life-saving donation occurring in a hospital setting where they're going to get the best clinical care and we know that's possible in our larger hospital settings.
JOURNALIST: This one from Canberra. The Prime Minister said this morning that Israel is quite clearly breaching international law in Gaza by withholding food. Do you agree with the Prime Minister?
WHITE: Yeah, I mean, the Prime Minister is quite right. Israel is breaching international law and we're seeing humanitarian devastation because of the lack of humanitarian aid reaching people who desperately need it. The stories that we’re hearing about adults and children suffering from starvation, in some cases dying, is atrocious and heartbreaking. And we're calling on Israel to comply with this international law.
JOURNALIST: And on state politics, Labor's in a very similar position to what your government was at the last election. Should Dean Winter concede the election, or is it a wise decision that Labor are looking to form a government?
WHITE: We've seen an outcome from this recent state election that demonstrates that there's quite a large crossbench and a majority of people voted for a progressive political party or an independent to represent them in the Tasmanian Parliament. I think it is entirely reasonable that parties take time to talk with that crossbench, wait for results to be finalised. We still have some time before all the votes are counted and to make sure that we deliver a Parliament that is stable and works in the best interests of Tasmania.
JOURNALIST: We saw that landmark reform last week which found that governments were legally obliged to act on climate change and reduce climate harm. Given that, would Labor consider some environmental policies in this particularly around salmon farming in Tasmania?
WHITE: Well, regulation of salmon farming is a matter for the Tasmanian Government. It happens within Tasmanian state waters. What the Federal Government's looking to do is to introduce stand-alone EPA legislation that would set up an environmental protection authority at a national level, which would be the first of its kind and we are working with our colleagues across the Parliament to make sure we continue with those reforms.