Australia's Transplant Outrage
15/Dec/2007
Australians are only half as likely to receive a transplant as citizens of many other western countries such as Austria, Belgium, France, Spain and the USA.
Compared with the availability of transplants in these countries, we should be saving at least another 100 Australians each month.
Mistakenly, many people believe that obtaining more donor registrations is the key to solving the problem. Despite adding almost one million extra registrations since 2002, the donor numbers have declined.
Committed to making Australia a world leader in transplantation, ShareLife Australia is a group of business executives, community leaders, and doctors who have spent two years extensively applying their diverse skills and experience in researching and analysing international best practices. We need to join 'the leader board'.
It is apparent that Australians are not comfortable with the transplant process – their decisions are guided by myths, misperceptions and lack of accurate information. Therefore it is vital for everyone to understand the facts. The more people who fully understand, the mores lives will be saved.
ShareLife Australia is undertaking an initiative to:
1. Dispel the myths about organ donation - to encourage families to have informed conversations regarding their organ donation choices. Presenting the facts about organ donation not only helps to dispel misinformation, and importantly allows all family members to be comfortable and confident with the transplant process.
2. Building awareness for the need to adopt proven best-practices to replace the fragmented approach that is in place now.
Please see the briefing document for further details.
