INTERNATIONAL ORGAN DONATION AWARENESS-SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - HOSPITAL BOOST FOR ORGAN DONATION

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

by Jessica Mahar

Life changing ... giant beach balls on Bondi for Organ Awareness Week.

A liver transplant three years ago saved six-year-old Alec Maddocks's life, and for others to have that chance, people need to keep discussing organ and tissue donation, his father, Matthew, said.

After a three-year wait because of a shortage of available donors, Mr Maddocks said his son was put on the critical list for eight months.

The rare biliary atresia condition meant Alec's bile ducts were blocked and his liver was only operating at 20 per cent capacity, unable to flush all the toxins out of his body.

Yesterday, at the start of Australian Organ Donation Awareness Week, a healthy Alec rang the bell to start the DonateLife Community Beachwalk, where giant beach balls were rolled down Bondi Beach as a symbol of the life change transplants offer.

In response to a federal government plan to pay hospitals for transplants, transplant groups said they supported measures that encouraged more organ donations.

The parliamentary secretary for health, Mark Butler said the government wanted to ensure there were systems in place so donation opportunities weren't missed. ''For the first time the federal government is funding hospitals for the costs they will incur if they undertake one of these procedures,'' he said.

''These payments to the hospitals simply reflect the cost and this system has no impact whatsoever on the nature of the discussions that families have when they get into these tragic circumstances.''

Transplant Australia's chief executive, Chris Thomas, said there was often a financial disincentive for hospitals to keep beds open for donors.

''Principally we support the fact that hospitals shouldn't be out of pocket financially. It's a significant issue that the public could misinterpret and that could work against the donation rate,'' he said.

Australia's level of organ donation was one of the lowest in the developed world, Mr Thomas said.

The president of the International Transplantation Society, Jeremy Chapman, said the federal funds would give hospitals the ability to look after critically ill patients, while still looking after the needs of potential deceased organ donors and their families.