Donatelife Week July 31 to August 7

JUST 32 per cent of Australian adults are currently on the national Australian Organ Donor Register, yet 69 per cent of Australians say they are willing to donate.

That is why during Donatelife Week the Register is asking Australians ‘What are you waiting for?’.

They’ve launched a new campaign page – www.donatelife.gov.au - to make it easier for Australians to register and share their donation decision online.

Reasons Australians need to join the Australian Organ Donor Register include the fact you can no longer register your donation decision via your driver’s license in New South Wales.

Registering your decision leaves your family in no doubt of your decision to save lives a donor.

In 2015, organ donation proceeded in 91 per cent of cases where the deceased was a registered donor- this drops to just 52 per cent where the potential donor had not registered and the family had no prior knowledge.

There are some 1,500 Australians and their families today waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

The Australian Organ Donor Register is the only national register for organ and tissue donation for transplantation after death.

Recording donation decisions is voluntary and you have complete choice over which organs and tissue you wish to donate.

The Register enables authorised medical staff to check a person’s registered decision anywhere in Australia, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They then give that information to your family in the event of your death where donation is possible.

Almost anyone can donate organs and tissue. There is no age limit on the donation of some organs and tissue.

Zika virus Olympic warning for travellers

NSW Health is urging travellers heading to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to plan ahead and take precautions to reduce the risk of contracting travel-related infections, including Zika virus.

NSW director of Health Protection, Dr Jeremy Mcanulty, said those planning to attend the Olympics should visit their GP or a travel doctor four to six weeks before departure to ensure they have all the necessary vaccinations and advice to reduce the risk of contracting infections while travelling overseas.

“Brazil is one of many countries in South America and around the world currently experiencing an outbreak of Zika virus, an infection which can cause serious birth defects if contracted when pregnant,” Dr Mcanulty said.

The Zika virus is mainly spread through the bite of infected mosquitos and is closely related to the dengue virus, causing a similar illness. Zika can also be a sexually transmitted infection so pregnant women can also be put at risk if their partner returns with the infection.

Symptoms of the Zika virus infection arise three to 12 days after being bitten and can include fever, a rash, headache, red eyes, muscle aches and joint pains. However, 80 per cent of people who contract the virus show no symptoms.

“There is currently no vaccine against Zika virus so we advise women who are pregnant to re-consider going to Brazil. If you do go to Brazil, or other countries experiencing a Zika outbreak, strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites, and use condoms or avoid sexual activity during the trip.

“Given the risk of sexual transmission of Zika, it’s important that travellers continue to take precautions after their trip to protect sexual partners even if they have had no Zika symptoms.”

For more information on the risk of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, go to the Commonwealth Department of Health website at: Zika Virus Sexual Transmission Questions and Answers.

For information on the Zika virus go the NSW Health website at: Zika virus alert.

‘Save the Box’ breaks the wall of silence around gynaecological cancer

WITH 5,530 Australian women to be diagnosed with one of the seven types of gynaecological cancers, and survival rates improving by just 7 per cent in the last 25 years, peak research body says it’s time to ‘Save the Box’.

The Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to gynaecological cancer research. It is the lead group for clinical trials in Australia and New Zealand and has implemented 20 trials involving some 3,000 women across 50+ hospitals.

“We surveyed women in the community, cancer patients and survivors. They told us they wanted a breakthrough campaign to kick-start the conversation and break the wall of silence around gynaecological cancers. Rather than think outside the box they told us to think inside the box and get everyone doing the same,” says Alison Evans, CEO ANZGOG.

Evans says the statistics speak for themselves 5,530 women were diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer in 2015 and 1,740 women died; collectively, gynaecological cancers are the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women, over 17,000 Australian women are currently living with a gynaecological cancer, 15 are diagnosed every day and four women lose their lives daily and only 4 in 10 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will survive five years from diagnosis.

The largest rise in gynaecological cancer is endometrial cancer (a type of uterine cancer) with a 22 per cent increase in incidence in 20 years from 1980 to 2008, this is continuing

There is no test used for detection, with the exception of the Pap Test for cervical cancer, and the symptoms for gynaecological cancer can be unclear, and in some cases, non-existent.