61% of families say no to organ donation
Figures released to organ donation campaigner Andy Tookey reveal that for last year 61% of families said No to the donation of organs of family members.
Tookey notes that this is the highest refusal rate of anywhere in the world that he has researched. “As an example, the UK are currently striving for a maximum family refusal rate of only 16%.”
Other figures on organ donation released under the Official Information Act are just as concerning.
Out of the 367 deaths where organ donation was possible. (Brain death in an Intensive Care Unit.) Organ donation was only discussed
with the family 37% of the time.
Of the remaining 135 potential donors only 53 became donors due the families saying no.
Of further concern to Mr Tookey was the amount of people who were potential donors who were not even tested for brain
death. A whopping 33% were not tested even though the government has recently invested several million dollars more for the purpose of ‘identifying potential donors.’
“It turns out that 3 of the 53 donors didn’t actually donate any organs to anyone so the figures are ‘massaged’ upwards’
to make a very, very poor system look like just a very poor system.
It must be clearly understood: New Zealand will never have a world-class donation and transplantation service if more
than 6 out of every 10 families say no to donation. ” Says Tookey.
ENDS