Despite the COVID-19 pandemic taking over health concerns in the past two years, organ donation registrations are at an all-time high.
The rate of new registrations has reached record levels, with 87 per cent year-on-year growth in Australians signing up as an organ donor.
New data from the 2021 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report reveals a substantial increase in new registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register.
Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, David Gillespie, said it was heart-warming to see.
"We saw 350,000 more Aussies getting behind organ and tissue donation in 2021, registering to be donors at a rate never seen before," Dr Gillespie said.
"...Even during the toughest of times, Australians understand the importance of donation and have joined the seven million other Australians on the [register]."
"Importantly, 1174 Australian lives were saved in 2021 through an organ transplant, due to the generosity of 421 deceased organ donors and their families."
But he said there were some effects on donation from the pandemic.
There was a nine per cent decrease in the number of organ donors and a seven per cent decrease in the number of people who received a transplant during 2021, compared to 2020.
Overall, this equates to a 25 per cent drop in donation and transplantation activity from pre-COVID-19 levels seen in 2019 and is consistent with the experience of comparable countries like the UK and Canada.
"Despite the drop, donation and transplants continued throughout the year, which is testament to a highly skilled workforce of doctors and nurses who helped to minimise risk," Dr Gillespie said
"Australian DonateLife teams worked with transplant teams to navigate the challenges created by COVID-19 - including pressures on hospitals, staff impacts, restricted family visits in hospitals, and logistics impacting the national program, such as flight reductions and border closures.
A total of 200 people received a kidney from a living donor in 2021, more than 2400 people with restored eyesight through a corneal transplant, and more than 10,000 people received tissue (such as musculoskeletal, heart, skin) transplants.
"There are around 1850 Australians who are waitlisted for an organ transplant and an additional 13,000 people on dialysis, some who may need a kidney transplant one day," Dr Gillespie said.
Data shows that nine out of 10 families consent to donation if their loved one is registered.
