News

Register to be a donor

By David Rak

Aug 14, 2019

Young people in Northern Victoria are being urged to talk about organ and tissue donation with their loved ones.

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To mark the end of DonateLife Week, Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp called on young people to join the Australian Organ Donor Register, as they were the least likely to be registered or to have spoken to family members about their wishes.

DonateLife Week is a national annual awareness campaign that encourages more discussion about organ and tissue donation.

New research shows 88 per cent of people aged 18 to 25 were aware they could be an organ donor, but just 14 per cent reported having signed up.

The actual number of young people registered is even less. The Australian Organ Donor Register shows just 8.1 per cent of people aged 16-25 are currently on the register. There are more than 1.04 million Victorians on the register.

Last year in Victoria, a record 193 donors and their families made the selfless decision to donate organs – saving the lives of 529 people. This compared to 148 donors in 2017, when 387 received a life-saving transplant.

It takes less than a minute to sign up – all you need is your Medicare card.

To register to be an organ and tissue donor, or for more information, visit donatelife.gov.au