MANY MORE DONORS
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Lungs, liver, heart – we are all used to hearing about donations in terms of organs. But there is more to it than that. Specifically: eye tissue, heart valves and skin.
Organ Donation New Zealand deals with both organ and tissue donations, and last year it facilitated 74 deceased tissueonly donors. That number runs alongside tissue donations from 62 deceased organ donors. Those donors have helped people see again, given young children and babies a chance at a healthy life, and saved people with severe burns.
From one donation of eye tissue, surgeons can use the cornea and sclera (the white of the eyes) to help up to four people – either by restoring their eyesight or repairing damage from conditions such as keratoconus, where the cornea thins out and becomes cone-shaped.
Skin donations – specifically from the front and back of a donor’s thighs – are the preferred dressing for severe burn victims, and when it comes to heart valve donations, they are used to give young children and babies diagnosed with congenital heart diseases a chance at a healthy life.
Last year there were 145 eye tissue donations, 24 heart valve donations, and three skin donations in total.
Unlike organ donation, tissue donation can still happen when people die in places like hospices, hospital wards, and even in their own homes.
When it comes to organs, there are specific conditions a donor must meet first: donation is only possible when they are in an intensive care unit on a ventilator, and will usually involve the donor having severe brain damage.
Fewer than 1 per cent of people meet these conditions on their death.
What new legislation will look like
A bill to improve access to organ donation is making its way through Parliament.
The bill is bipartisan, meaning it has the support of both the Government and the Opposition. Its goal is to increase organ donation by improving compensation for those who donate, and by establishing a new national organ agency to oversee donations.
This policy was adopted after consultation on the national strategy for increasing deceased organ donation found an agency independent of district health boards should take on the role.
Want to be an organ donor?
If you want to put yourself in the position of saving someone’s life, don’t assume that just ticking a box on your driver’s licence seals the deal – it is an indication of your interest only, not an official organ donation register.
The most important thing you can do is talk to those closest to you about it, says Organ Donation NZ’s Rebecca Oliver.
‘‘If you are ever in a situation where donation is possible, a doctor will ask your family if they know whether you wanted to be a donor. If you have had a conversation about organ and tissue donation with your family, there is nothing else you need to do.’’
Organ Donation NZ has a guide to what that conversation might look like.