Donor co-ordinators could save the State a fortune, says the Irish Donor Network
THE INTRODUCTION of trained donor coordinators in intensive care units would increase the number of organs being donated and lessen transplant waiting lists, the chairman of the Irish Donor Network has said.
Mark Murphy said that when 20 donor coordinators were put in place in UK hospitals on a pilot basis, there was a 14 per cent rise in donations within a year.
"Irish hospitals are losing potential organ donations because they do not have proper systems in place to identify donors and to handle the issue with their families," he said.
At present in Ireland there are more than 600 people in various transplant waiting pools and although the State's population has risen in recent years, the number of donations and transplants has not.
Currently, an audit of potential organ donors from intensive-care facilities is being carried out by the Working Group on Organ Procurement. It is expected to report in the autumn on how the potential for donation matches actual delivery here.
In January, British prime minister Gordon Brown signalled his support for "presumed consent" to organ donation, which would see everyone placed on a register of donors unless they or their families object.
Mark Murphy says he supports healthy debate around the "presumed consent" versus "opt in" systems and he says any initiative that can reduce waiting times for transplants is a plus.
However, he said the "opt in" policy currently in place in the Republic, along with an extra investment in key donor personnel, is the preferred option.
"Countries with the best figures in organ donation have them not because of legislation for presumed consent, but because of investment in donor co-ordinators.
"Finding more donors would save the State a fortune. For instance, the average cost of keeping a person on dialysis for a year is between €60,000 and €100,000, depending on their drug regimes and distance from hospital," Murphy says.
He was speaking to The Irish Times in advance of the launch of Organ Donor Awareness Week 2008. The annual campaign seeks to highlight the plight of people with organ failure and the ongoing need for organs for transplantation.
This year the campaign runs from March 29th to April 5th and it is encouraging people to make an informed decision to donate their organs in the event of untimely death.
Last year was regarded as a mixed year for organ donation, with kidney and liver transplants increasing and heart and lung transplants falling. The Irish Kidney Association (IKA) says 214 people had organ transplants in the country last year, with 141 deceased donor kidney transplants, 59 liver, seven heart and four lung transplants.
Five pancreases were transplanted simultaneously with a kidney and two livers transplanted at the same time as kidneys.
Hearts and lungs are regarded as the hardest organs to match in transplantation and last year the numbers of transplants of both dropped considerably. There were seven heart transplants, which was half of the 2006 figure, and lung transplantation decreased from nine in 2006 to four.
Phyllis Cunningham, senior transplant co-ordinator at Beaumont Hospital, said a major factor in increasing the demand for organ transplants has been increased life expectancy worldwide, because as people get older their likelihood to require a transplant increases.
She added that although the number of organ donations in the Republic had remained static in recent years, Ireland had a good rate overall.
"The generosity and support from the public is strong. Twenty-two people per million donate, which is almost double that of our colleagues in the UK," she said.
• Organ donor cards are available by phoning the IKA at 1890-543639 or by free texting the word DONOR to 50050
