The first public hearings of Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry examining how the state can encourage more people to register for organ and tissue donors will turn to experts from Spain.
The initial hearings of the legal and social issues committee inquiry will take place on Monday 19 and Friday 23 June. They will be broadcast live from 9am to 4.30pm.
Among the witnesses will be Spain’s Dr Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, general director of Organización Nacional de Trasplantes. She will join the committee at 4pm on Friday.
Organ donation in Spain has tracked well above the global average for almost 30 years.
Committee chair Ella George said the inquiry was interested in expert witnesses with first-hand knowledge of this field, including common barriers to becoming a registered organ and tissue donor.
“The first round of public hearings includes witnesses not only from Victorian and Australian organisations, but also from Spain, who are considered world leaders in organ and tissue donations,” George said in a statement.
Victoria has the second-lowest donor registration rate compared to other states and territories in Australia, with only 23% of residents registered organ and tissue donors. Nationwide the rate sits at 36%.
The donor registration rate slumped in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing nationwide by 15%. About 1,800 Australians are currently waiting for an organ transplant.
“Up to seven lives can be saved by one organ donor and many more can be helped through tissue donation, so it is essential that we explore ways to increase the number of donors in Victoria,” George said.
The inquiry will consider better models for lifting registration rates and identify new ways to encourage more people to sign-up to be a donor.
Also appearing next Friday will be experts from the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, Deaf Victoria, the Islamic Council of Victoria and the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health.
On Monday, witnesses from DonateLife Victoria, Alfred Health, Lions Eye Donation Service, Lifeblood, the Leukaemia Foundation and experts from La Trobe University will front the committee.
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