Help end donor wait

Rockingham General Hospital is placing the importance of organ donation under the spotlight as part of DonateLife Week, which runs this week.

The hospital has played a role in offering new life for patients on the organ transplant waiting list since 2014, when it became the first non-tertiary public hospital in WA to be accredi-ted for the organ donation program co-ordinated by DonateLife.

RGH medical co-director of acute and community medicine Dr Bheemasenachar Prasad said the hospital was proud to be associated with the aims of DonateLife.

“Having organ retrieval capabilities on-site helps to streamline the donation process for families because donors no longer need to be moved to a tertiary hospital in Perth,” he said.

“Families can find it difficult to allow their loved one to be transferred elsewhere for the procedure to take place, and this helps to remove one obstacle in the process.”

The hospital will be celebrating its involvement in the organ donation program through a series of staff and community awareness activities during DonateLife Week.

DonateLife clinical nurse consultant Renee Deleuil said the aim of the week was to to encourage the community to join the Australian Organ Donor Register. “By registering, people can help end the wait for more than 1500 Australians currently on the transplant waiting lists,” she said.

“Sharing your decision with family and friends is important as it leaves your family in no doubt of your decision to save lives as an organ and tissue donor.

“You can help give another person a new chance at life.”

To celebrate DonateLife Week, RGH held an awareness-raising sausage sizzle, which was supported by the Rotary Club of Rockingham and the hospital’s Auxiliary.

For more information or to register for organ and tissue donation, visit [|www.donatelife.gov.au] or call 1800 777 203.