A breakfast event at Parliament House Canberra on Wednesday has discussed the need to lift organ donation rates in Australia by allowing Australians to be able to register via their driver’s licence.

The Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation co-chair Dr Anne Webster MP called on National Cabinet to discuss this important approach which will result in more donors in Australia.

“The evidence is clear in South Australia – the only state to have registration linked to driver’s licences. They have 73 per cent of their population aged 16 and over registered on the Australian Organ Donor Register, consistently having one of the highest consent and donation rates in Australia. Clearly recording donor status on driver’s licences makes a big difference,” Dr Webster said.

“Dr Mike Freelander (Labor, NSW) and myself (Mallee, Victoria) as co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation – our states are well below these registration rates, with 41 per cent in NSW and just 23 per cent in Victoria.”

There are currently around 1,800 Australians on a waitlist for organ transplant, and around 14,000 more people on dialysis, many who may benefit from a kidney transplant.

Very few people have the opportunity to be an organ donor. Only 2 per cent of people that die in hospitals – about 1,500 people each year – meet the criteria to be an organ donor. Last year 54 per cent of families said yes to donation. There were 513 organ donors and we thank every donor and their family for this gift of life.

“Around 8 out of 10 families consented to donation when their family member was registered to be a donor and they were aware this was the case. This drops to only 4 out of 10 families when their family didn’t know they wanted to be a donor. We encourage every family to have a conversation about organ donation,” Dr Webster said.

Wednesday morning’s Parliamentary Friends breakfast event in the Speaker’s Courtyard promoted the Australian Transplant Games from 1 to 6 October in Canberra, featuring transplant athletes, donor families and organ donation recipients.

To register for organ donation, visit www.donatelife.gov.au.