Christopher Morellini had just finished his Year 11 exams and was planning a career in medicine. He was riding his bicycle home from his part-time job at a deli one Saturday afternoon in November 1989 when he was hit by a P-plate driver doing 100km/h in a 60km/h zone. 
By 12.30pm the next day he was pronounced brain dead. For his parents, Bernard and Nerida, there was no question that he would become an organ donor. His kidneys, heart and liver gave four people another chance at life.
Only three weeks before the accident Chris had watched a TV program about organ donation, and Australia’s severe shortage of donors, and resolutely told his parents that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted his organs donated.
“It very much helped in the grieving process,” says Nerida.
“When somebody dies at that age, you say, ‘What a waste’. Chris was such a bright, loving kid and we thought what a senseless, stupid thing to happen; but out of it we had the knowledge that he did something really remarkable. Christopher’s death meant something to four people.”
According to Dr Antony Harding, President of Transplant Australia and himself a liver transplant recipient, when people lose a loved one suddenly, such as in a car crash, they’re not usually prepared to make the confronting decision about organ donation when approached by the hospital’s transplant coordinator. 
“Most people who become organ donors die quickly,” says Dr Harding.
“It’s a big shock to the family. They’re told their relative is brain dead but their relative’s chest is moving up and down, they’re still ... warm.
It’s hard to conceive. That’s why it’s so important to discuss [organ donation] as a family.”
Ticking the box on our drivers licence is about as much thought as many of us put into organ donation – we don’t think it will ever happen to us.
But that doesn’t instantly mean you’re an organ donor. Your family can veto your choice. The Human Tissue Act in NSW states that if a person has indicated a wish to be an organ donor on their drivers licence and has not withdrawn the decision, there is no legal requirement to establish consent or objection from next of kin. However, according to Dr Harding, hospital staff will usually respect a family’s decision to object if the deceased did not give any other indication of their wishes.
For this reason it’s vital you also register a consent (or objection) with the Australian Organ Donation Register, the only national register for organ and/or tissue donation run by Medicare.
Authorised medical personnel can verify your wishes 24/7 anywhere in Australia, and being linked to the Medicare database, your medical history is accessible. You can choose which organs you want donated; separate permission is required for donated organs and tissue to be used for research purposes.
Most religions don’t forbid organ donation and the operation is done with care and respect and without disfiguring the body, so why do people object to organ donation when the organs of one person can save up to 10 lives?
One reason is the mistaken belief that if they consent to organ donation the doctors might make less effort to save them or their loved ones; however, the doctors who care for critically ill patients are independent from transplant teams, and brain death must be diagnosed and verified by two independent doctors.
The heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas may be donated by a patient who is brain dead and in intensive care on artificial ventilation with their heart still beating. If their heart has stopped beating, corneas, skin, bone and bone marrow can be donated, and living donors can donate kidneys, blood, bone and bone marrow.
According to Dr Harding, Australia’s size and the distances between hospitals is one reason for our low donor rate, but lack of awareness is the biggest factor.
“Transplant Australia hosts the National Transplant Games every second year and in the month after the Games there’s usually a 200–300% increase in the number of organ donors than in the previous year,” says Dr Harding.
“Unfortunately, that rate only stays up for two months then drops down to normal. What we need is something happening every month to try and keep it a topic of conversation.”
National Organ Donor Week, held in February, is an annual government campaign to raise awareness and encourage people to register with the Australian Organ Donor Register. To register call 1800 777 203 or visit www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/organ.
Australia needs 20,000 blood donations every week (over a million donations a year) to stay self-sufficient in blood, and 80% of us will need blood or blood products (e.g. plasma) in our lifetime.
Once you meet the criteria to give blood, it only takes eight to 12 minutes to donate the standard 470ml of blood. Australian Red Cross has been responsible for the collection, processing and distribution of blood and blood products since 1929.
For many Australians with leukaemia or other fatal blood disorders, a bone marrow (or stem cell) transplant is the only chance of a cure. Robbie Lelliott, grandson of former NRMA patrolman Dave Reader, was one of the lucky ones. He was matched with a donor when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Without the transplant, Robbie had a 2% chance of survival.
“My son is living proof of the importance of bone marrow donation. I saw a lot of kids in hospital pass away who didn’t get a donor in time,” says Robbie’s mum, Lorraine. (For more on Robbie’s story see below.)
Bone marrow donors need to be specifically matched to the patient, and only one in 1000 donors will be a match for a patient requiring a transplant in any given year, so it’s crucial that more Australians become registered donors.
To join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) you have to pass a set of criteria and donate blood. For more information on donating bone marrow or giving blood, call 13 14 95.
Why should I consider donating my organs and/or tissue?
For people with serious or life-threatening illnesses, organ or tissue transplantation could mean a second chance at life.
More than 30,000 Aussies have received transplants in the last 60 years. By choosing to record your consent to donate on the Donor Register, you could help up to 10 other people.
Why should I discuss donation with my family, partner or friends?
It is important to discuss your decision with your family, partner or close friends, as they will be an important part of the donation process.
The more family members who know of your decision to donate organs and/or tissue for transplantation, the more likely it is that it will occur and the more reassured they are likely to be by your decision.
Which organs and tissues can be donated?
Organs: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas. Tissues: heart valves, bone tissue, skin tissue and eye tissue. More people have the opportunity to donate tissue as they don’t require the same special circumstances as organs for transplantation to be successful.
If I become an organ donor, will my organs and/or tissue be used for research purposes?
No. Separate and specific permission is required for donated organs and tissue to be used for research.
Will I have to pay to be an organ donor?
There are no costs associated with becoming an organ donor.
Who can donate organs and tissue?
Anyone can choose to donate organs and tissue. There is no age limit on the donation of some organs and tissue. While your age and medical history will be considered, you shouldn’t assume you are too old or not healthy enough.
Who can register on the Organ Donor Register?
To ensure consent is legally valid, only people aged 18 years and over will be able to record their consent on the Donor Register. Registrations of intent will be accepted from people aged 16 and 17 years, but in these cases consent from families will still be needed for transplantation to take place.
What if I’m already registered as a donor elsewhere, for example, my drivers licence?
You still need to register your consent (or objection) to be an organ and/or tissue donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register. This is the only national register for organ and tissue donation.
Who can access my details if I’m registered?
Your information can only be accessed by authorised personnel who have signed confidentiality agreements covering the access and use of personal information.
“In 2000, [Robbie] was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common type of childhood leukaemia. He was three.
He ha
d none of the usual symptoms like tiredness and lethargy. He was running around like a chook without a head. He complained about pains in his belly, I took him to the GP and he found nothing. It would be a one-off [thing] and wouldn’t happen again for a few weeks. [Then one day], Robbie was running around kicking his football when he tripped over, went hysterical and then into shock. In hospital, they took blood and [found] that 98% of his bone marrow had been affected.
At the time the prognosis was good – 80% chance of cure – but within two months he relapsed on treatment. He was one of the earliest relapsed cases in Australia, and at the time no child [here] had lived longer than 12 months post-transplant. [And] if he didn’t have the transplant he had a 2% chance of survival.
We went to the [bone marrow] registry to find a donor ... and found three matches. They like to match up [the] sex so that left us with one match. [Robbie] had to be ‘conditioned’ 10 days [before the transplant]. They had to kill off every cell in his body before they could transplant. He had full body radiation. He didn’t get as sick as other kids. He really fought it. He had the doctors scratching their heads.
The transplant consists of getting the marrow from the donor, putting it through machinery to purify it and then transplanting it into Robbie. They give you 21 days to see a sign of whether it’s working. Robbie waited until the 21st day [to show signs it was working]. He likes to keep us on the edge of our seats!
[After the transplant], Robbie was in isolation for 100 days all up [before] they allowed us to go home. You can’t go to shopping centres or to the pictures. He had to wear a mask 99% of the time, and the place had to be constantly cleaned and wiped down. The slightest infection can be the end.
Now [five years later] he’s on three-monthly visits. They look at the long-term side effects of the treatment. When we first went through it, he was given a 15–20% chance. Now we’re looking at a 60% chance and climbing. There’s no chance of rejection now.
He still has a question mark hanging over him for another eight years. I am confident the leukaemia has gone and will not return. [Because of bone marrow donation] we’ve got five years more than we thought.”
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