Organ Donation Fast Facts

Need stats on CKD, organ donation and transplantation?

A variety of extensive statistics can be obtained in the lastest ANZDATA Registry Reports
- ANZDATA - Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry
- ANZOD - Australia and New Zealand Organ Donation Registry

DonateLife™- an Australian Government Initiative - www.donatelife.gov.au

The Australian Organ and Tissue Authority was established on 1 January 2009 and was established under the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority Act 2008 as part of the Australian Government's new national reform package - A World's Best Practice Approach to Organ and Tissue Donation for Transplantation.

The Authority is an independent statutory authority within the Australian Government Health and Ageing portfolio. The purpose of the Authority is to establish - in partnership with states, territories, clinicians, consumers and the community - a nationally coordinated approach to organ and tissue donation for transplantation. The Authority is also responsible for administering funds to non-government organisations to provide essential associated services, aligned to its purpose.

While Australia is recognised as a world leader in transplantation medicine, the number of organ and tissue donations in Australia is low by global standards. The national reform program provides an unprecedented opportunity to transform and save more Australian lives.

Organ Donor Registration Hotline 1800 777 203 (freecall) 8.30am to 5pm

The Australian Organ Donor Register serves as a lifeline to the people on those waiting lists and is administered by Medicare Australia and provides a simple way for people to record their consent (or objection) to becoming an organ and/or tissue donor for transplantation.

Over 1800 people in Australia are on organ transplant waiting lists at any given time. Almost 75% of this number of people are waiting for kidneys. Sadly, some will die waiting. The Donor Register will ensure your consent (or objection) to donating organs and/or tissue for transplantation can be verified 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by authorised medical personnel, anywhere in Australia. In the event of your death, information about your decision will be accessed from the Donor Register, and provided to your family. It is important that you talk with your family before registering your decision.

Recycle your kidneys. Don't take your organs to Heaven - Heaven knows we need them here.

How does your State compare to others re organ donation registrations in Australia? Find out latest figures from Medicare for those who have registered their decision in regard to organ and tissue donation by age group, state and gender.

Did you know? During the past 60 years, more than 30,000 Australians, many of them children and teenagers, have undergone transplant surgery. See Kidney and Urinary Fast Facts for other detailed statistics.

Australia has one of the world’s best transplant success rates
During the past 60 years, more than 30,000 Australians, many of them children and teenagers, have undergone transplant surgery
About 50% of all organs transplanted from deceased donors are kidneys
However, we also have one of the world’s lowest organ and tissue donation rates
An estimated 100 people die each year waiting for an organ transplant due to the shortage of organ and tissue donors
Organ and tissue donation can save and improve the quality of many lives
One organ and tissue donor can help up to 10 people in need
There is an urgent need to increase Australia’s donation rate

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a significant and growing public health problem.

CKD is responsible for substantial burden of illness and premature mortality. In Australia, it is a fact that:

1 in 3 adults are at increased risk of developing CKD
1 in 7 adults have at least one clinical sign of existing CKD
A person can lose up to 90% of their kidney function before experiencing any symptoms
Approximately 2 million Australians may be affected by early-stage kidney disease and don't know it
Over 40 Australians die of kidney failure each day
11.3% of all deaths in Australia are due to, or associated with, kidney failure
Every day, 6 Australians commence expensive dialysis or transplantation to stay alive
About 50% of all organs transplanted from deceased donors are kidneys
Most people with CKD will die from cardiovascular causes before requiring dialysis or transplantation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience excessive death and disability due to CKD

How many Australians have treatment for kidney failure?

The most recent data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry www.anzdata.org.au show:

2,476 people started kidney replacement therapy (dialysis or transplant) in 2008.
The number of people on dialysis increased by 5% from 2007 to 2008, and has averaged a 6% growth rate per year over the past decade.
Although Indigenous Australians represent less than 2.5% of the national population, they account for approximately 10% of people commencing kidney replacement therapy.
22% of people diagnosed with CKD are referred ‘late’ to a nephrologist i.e. less than 3 months before first treatment for kidney failure.
In Australia late referral is more common among people of Pacific Island (33%), Indigenous Australian (32%), Maori (30%), or Asian (25%) heritage compared with the Caucasoid population (23%).

Dialysis

A total of 10,062 people were receiving dialysis treatment at the end of 2008.
23% were receiving dialysis at a hospital, 31% were dialysing at home and 45% in satellite centres.
Home dialysis includes:
- continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (9% of all dialysis)
- automated peritoneal dialysis (12% of all dialysis)
- home haemodialysis (9% of all dialysis)
Rates of home haemodialysis range from 14% in NSW to 1% in SA.

Transplantation

In 2008, only 6.5% of the people on dialysis received a transplant, a increase from 5.2% in 2007 and 5.78% in 2006
The average waiting time for a transplant is about 4 years but waits of up to 7 years are not uncommon.
On average one Australian dies each week while waiting for a transplant
The survival rate following a kidney transplant is high - 98% of recipients are alive at 1 year, and 88% are alive at 5 years
In 2009, Australia had a deceased organ donation rate of 11 donors per million population (pmp).
There were 247 organ donors in Australia in 2009 compared with 257 in 2008 and 198 in 2007.
Live kidney donations represented 44% of all kidney transplants in 2008, which was the same in 2007.
As at 31 December 2008, 13% (1,298) of the 10,062 people receiving dialysis were on the transplant waiting list
The majority of people on the waiting list are aged less than 55 years and 82% are waiting for their first transplant

Important Information

Could I be a Living Donor Transplant UK
Deciding about live donation Kidney Health Australia Fact Sheet
Kidney and Urinary Fast Facts Kidney Health Australia Fact Sheet
Kidney donation by live donors NSW Health
Kidney Transplantation Kidney Health Australia Fact Sheet
Life with a single kidney Kidney Health Australia Fact Sheet
Live Donation Kidney Health Australia Fact Sheet
Making a decision about living and organ and tissue donation NHMRC
Organ and tissue donation and transplantation Kidney Health Australia
Organ Donation NSW Health Multilingual Fact Sheets - Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, Italian, Korean, Lao, Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
Transplant Australia FAQ