The Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry

Wednesday 7th January 2009 2:18pm

The Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA). ANZDATA

Please click onto the current figures for organ donation.

http://www.anzdata.org.au/anzod/v1/summary-org-donation.html#previous%20years

2008 – 259 donors (solid organs only)

2007 – 198 donors

2006 – 202 donors

2005 – 204 donors

2004 – 218 donors

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Press Release

Organ donation increase in 2008

Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation would like to thank all Australian families who have been in a position to have a member of their family become an organ or tissue donor and help increasing our donor rate in 2008 to 259 organ donors, an increase of 30.85% from 2007 results of 198 donors.

Australia is heading in the right direction with such a great increase, allowing those who are current on the organ and tissue donation list a better chance of getting their gift of life.

If all Australian just had a discussion about what they would do if, they where ever in a position to be an organ and tissue donor before something happened, then this figure would again increase for 2009.

Don’t be afraid to have this discussion with your children as my wife and I did with our two children Jaz and Zaidee. If we never did, Zaidee may never have become a donor herself and 7 people would not have benifit form her gifts.

Zaidee Turner suddenly died in 2004 at the age of 7 years and 22 days from a brain aneurism and she was the only child in the state of Victoria to be an organ and tissue donor under the age of 16 that year and only 1 of 6 children nationally that year.

It is gratifying to know that Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundations national symbol in Zaidee’s Rainbow Shoelaces have obtained such great support from the many sporting codes such as AFL, NRL, NBL and many others who have worn the laces in 2008 and will again in 2009 promoting organ and tissue awareness, donation and transplant on a national scale.

Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation call of action is for all Australians to better this figure again in 2009.

As we still have a large demand for more people to become organ and tissue donors after death, especially the need for more children donors that are in a position as our daughter Zaidee was in December 2004.

No longer we should call this the deathbed, rather it should be now known to as the “bed of life”.

We must thank the Federal Government and the Department of Health and Aging for the support they have give organisations such as Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation to develop and promote national campaigns into the community, school’s and sporting codes nationally on this important subject.

For more information about Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation and what national awareness campaigns that you can support in 2009 please clicking on www.zaidee.org and to download the registration form.

Best wishes,

Allan TurnerChief Executive OfficerZaidee’s Rainbow Foundation