DonateLife Week runs until Sunday July 31 with a focus on getting residents to register as organ or tissue donors.
“Research shows that four in five Australians support donation, yet there are around 13 million Australians over 16 who are eligible to register but haven’,” says Parkes MP Mark Coulton who along with other MPs is helping push the drive.
“One of the key barriers to signing up is that most people don’t know how to register or simply haven’t gotten around to it,” says the MP.
“It really does take only one minute online at donatelife.gov.au or just three taps in your Medicare Express Plus app.
This simple act can help save lives – in fact, one organ donor can save up to seven lives and help many more through eye and tissue donation,” he said.
Recipients of transplants dropped by 7% last year, while the number of donors dropped by a 9%.
There are around 1750 seriously ill people on Australia’s organ transplant waitlist, and an additional 13,000 on dialysis.
If you don’t have the Medicare Express app and want to register, head to www.donatelife.gov.au
There’s also plenty of information on the site if you’re on the fence about organ and tissue donation, and of course you can register at any time.
