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A SPECIALIST nurse says it is worth investigating better ways of encouraging more Australians to save lives through organ donation.
This week is Donate Life Week, where there is a nationwide push to lift current rates of organ donation.
Queensland has the lowest registration rate in Australia, with only 27 per cent registered, compared to the national average of 33 per cent.–
In June, the Lillie family of Cairns reignited calls for Australia to have a presumed consent (opt-out) organ donor system to alleviate long delays for organ recipients.
The parents of Harper Lillie, 5, who died after a backyard pool accident late last year, decided to donate their daughter’s organs, saving the lives of two recipients
DonateLife Queensland donation nurse specialist Loren Ginders said there were positives and negatives about optin and opt-out registers.
“There’s a lot of discussion about that, but I think we do need to just work with what we have at the moment,” she said.
“They’ve made online registration really easy. It just takes a few minutes online.
“I think we have to work with what we’ve got, but (the register) needs more investigation.”
She said it was important that Far North Queenslanders discussed organ donation, simply to be aware of each others’ wishes when they passed away.
“The research shows that when you talk to Queens- landers, they are very supportive of donation,” she said.
“They just haven’t taken that extra step to sign on.”
Cairns childcare worker Sabrina Davies, 28, received a new kidney about five years ago. Ms Davies, who suffered kidney failure in 2008, said she would no doubt be still hooked up to a dialysis machine if it were not for the generosity of others.
“Becoming an organ donor means you are giving someone else a second chance at life,” she said.