The data to 31 October 2012 are out, showing that 285 generous families agreed to donate their loved ones’ organs this year. The projection to 31 December is 342; disappointingly a small increase on 2011’s total of 337. But it is still upwards, rather than downwards.
The big change will be in NSW, a jurisdiction that has traditionally lagged behind the rest of Australia. This is because it has used the driver’s licence register as one of the tools to indicate consent or no consent. We know that renewal or application for driving licence has absolutely nothing to do with what people want when they die, so this is a good move on the part of the NSW Health Minister.
I fully expect a dramatic increase in NSW numbers in the coming month so that more Australians’ lives can be saved or improved.
You can get the traditional data at the relevant website, but here’s my calculations of rolling averages so that you can see what’s going on.
Oh, well done to Tasmania, reaching the highest ever number of organ donors. The Northern Territory has also outdone itself as has my own jurisdiction of the ACT.
Some of Anne's Daze 