Donor Organ Source 'lost'
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday April 27, 1994
A major source of organ donors for transplant patients had been lost with the reduction in road deaths through successful crackdowns on drunk and dangerous driving, a leading cardiologist said yesterday.
Dr Anne Keogh, of St Vincent's Hospital, said there would probably never be enough donor organs in Australia.
"There just isn't the death rate from trauma and premature death," she said. "Car accident and gunshot victims just aren't going to make up the numbers in Australia."
There were 207 patients waiting for heart or lung transplants in Australia and New Zealand, 16 per cent more than last year, Dr Keogh said. Of those, 117 were waiting for hearts and 90 for some form of lung transplant.
Most organ donors die from brain hemorrhages or in accidents.
Dr Keogh has called for a campaign to attract donors.
"It's taken a long time to even talk about it and see it as a contribution to the community," she said.
Most people were happy to decide to donate their own organs but had difficulty deciding about a dying or dead relative, she said.
More than 40 per cent of patients accepted for transplants remained on waiting lists. Dr Keogh said 14 per cent of heart transplant patients and 18 per cent of lung transplant patients died while waiting for a suitable donor.
Over the past six years, waiting times for hearts had doubled and the average age of donors had risen from 24 to 34.
Survival rates and the number of patients who lived normal lives after transplants had increased dramatically in recent years. About two-thirds were successfully rehabilitated.
Speaking at a heart and lung transplant conference, Dr Keogh said it was necessary to look more closely at alternatives to organ donation, such as animal organ transplants and mechanical pumps.
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald
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