NSW Newsletter August 2013

Donation Matters
DonateLife NSW Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 5 ‫ ׀‬Issue 2 ‫ ׀‬April - August 2013
Message from the State Medical Director
Inside this issue:
Message from the State
Medical Director
1-2
DonateLife Week 2014
2013 Quality Award
3
Bellinger River Ag Show
HNE Critical Care Conference
4
Annual Service 2013
5
Eye and Tissue Bank Opening
6
Multicultural Health Communication Award
7
Cycle for Life
8
Aboriginal Health Week
9
Bstreetsmart Forum
10
Agquip
11
Aussie Alice
Jeans for Genes High Tea
12
DonateLife Caps Make a
Splash at City to Surf
Taking DonateLife to the
Community
13
From Juliana’s Desk
Dates for the Diary
14
NSW Donation
Statistics
January - June 2013
60 organ donors
174 organs transplanted
YTD – KPIs for BD
Request Rate = 93%
Consent Rate = 58%
Donation Rate = 45%
Over the last 18 months we have seen
enormous changes in organ and tissue
donation within NSW with the NSW Health
Minister’s Plan providing an additional
focus in partnership with the National
Reform Agenda.. This has led to initiatives
in community and clinical education, improved clinical governance, better engagement between donation and transplantation sectors and changes in legislation
governing registries and consent. It is
clear that improving organ and tissue donation rates is the responsibility of the
whole society, and that within Health it is
everyone’s responsibility to facilitate donation wherever that is possible. It is my
hope that these changes will become embedded within all our hospitals, with donation seen as an important responsibility of
the hospital executive and board, as well
as clinicians.
Over the next few months and coming
year several further important changes
are planned for the donation sector, perhaps the most far-reaching being the implementation of an electronic donor record (EDR). This national initiative will
replace the current Confidential Donor
Record with an on-line equivalent, and
once implemented will allow sharing of
donor information between the donor hospital, the state donation service and the
transplanting hospitals. Our current paper
and verbal system produces duplicate
information at the hospitals and agency,
with the risk of transcription errors and
mis-hearing information. The electronic
system will allow sharing of information in
real time, decreasing the risk of errors
and misunderstandings. Clinical images
including X-rays and Echos will be able to
be attached to the record, so that trans-
planting units will be able to access the
source information. Tissue typing and cross
matching information will also be stored.
The EDR will be implemented across Australia, so that interstate transfer of organ
and tissue will also be facilitated. At first
only organ donors will be entered into the
system, but the system has the capacity to
also collect information on cornea and tissue donors. AOTA has an option to implement the tissue modules if the EDR is successfully implemented for solid organs.
Several DSNs and DSCs have been involved
in customising and testing the EDR, and
they have been enthusiastic about the enhanced clinical care it will allow. Hospital
and agency staff are to be given education
and certification in the EDR, with training
currently planned for October and November. A state-wide help desk is being established, with super users in the agency, and
computer resources are being surveyed to
ensure there is appropriate access to the
system from all donor hospitals. The system
will go live early in 2014.
Page 2
Message from the State Medical Director Cont...
Donation rates in NSW have improved significantly over the last 18
months, partly due to increases in
the family consent rate from 48% to
60%. Looking at NSW data in comparison to other Australian states
and international data (see table
below) there are several areas of
difference. On a population (donors
per million population) basis we
seem to have fewer DCD donors
than other Australian states, and
have not achieved the donation rates
evident in South Australia.
While we have made significant improvements, there is room to improve
further. Understanding the differences
in the DCD rate between Victoria and
NSW may allow identification of more
DCD donors, while an increase in our
consent rate to 80% would on its own
increase our donation rate to over 22
donors per million population, to come
close to South Australia.
I would like to thank everyone in
NSW DonateLife for their ongoing
commitment and dedication to helping improve our service and for your
work and compassion with bereaved
families.
Dr Robert Herkes
BD Donors (pmp)
DCD Donors (pmp)
Total Donors (pmp)
NSW
13.7
3.0
16.7
Victoria
13.0
6.8
19.8
South Australia
24.7
2.0
26.7
United Kingdom
11.1
8.0
19.1
United States
22.6
3.0
25.6
Spain
29.3
2.7
32.0
Farewell as Ellie McCann Departs From NSWOTDS
As many of you may be aware
Ellie McCann is leaving the
NSWOTDS, after 3.75 years (as
Ellie puts it), to take up an exciting new position in education at
WSLHD.
In the time that Ellie has been
with the sector she has undertaken the position of Clinical Manager and then Strategic Projects
Manager. As the Clinical Manager
Ellie played a crucial role in consolidating the transition of the
NSWOTDS from the ARCBS and
the establishment of the DonateLife Network in NSW.
Since taking up the role of Strate-
gic Projects Manager, Ellie has
brought to fruition a number of
successful initiatives including the
Simulation Training program for
Designated Requestors, the inclusion of organ donation in the National School Curriculum and
many other key projects.
I would like to thank Ellie for all
her hard work, enthusiasm and
achievements while working at
the NSWOTDS. As you can see
from the photo Ellie not only
works hard but plays hard as well.
However this skiing injury did not
slow Ellie down and she is hard at
work until the last minute.
Dr Robert Herkes
Page 3
DonateLife Week: 23rd February — 2nd March 2014
“Have The
Chat That Saves
Lives”
The dates are set and plans for DonateLife week are well underway and
once again our energy is focused on
family discussion with this year’s
theme being “Have the Chat That
Saves Lives”.
A western Sydney council is shaping
up to play host to the launch event as
they evaluate our proposal for a walk
around a lake followed by a BBQ and
family festivities.
A major retail chain and well known
charity group are discussing a partnership with us for BBQs and information stalls in their 80 extremely
busy locations throughout NSW.
An application has gone through to
line some of the most prominent
streets in Sydney’s CBD with our vibrant magenta flags.
Community grants applications are in
the final stages of assessment and
processing at AOTA and we eagerly
await news on which ones gain approval.
dise allotment should arrive and we
are also working on other merchandise to supplement this.
So it is now time for all of you to start
sending me through event forms for
any activities that you might be working on so that we can start to populate the events calendar and think
about what support you will need
throughout DonateLife Week 2014.
Samantha Glanville
A volunteer program is being developed and we hope to have at least
some volunteers trained and available to assist throughout the week.
Within the next month our merchan-
2013 Quality Award NNSW LHD
tion between the NNSW LHD Organ
and Tissue Donation Specialist
Nurse, Aboriginal Health workers
locally, and State / National organisations for Organ and Tissue Donahas been developed and is now a na- The creation and development of an tion.
tional resource for all Aboriginal com- Aboriginal pamphlet required a collabo- There was a mutual acknowledgerative and mutually respectful interac- ment by all key stakeholders of the
munities throughout Australia.
need to have a resource which
would provide information in a culturally respectful way for Aboriginal
people. The process of developing
the pamphlet has involved many
Aboriginal community members.
This has created new partnerships,
mutual respect and communication
between these groups.
Donate Life and give our people a sec- This national resource is providing the
platform and catalyst for ongoing enond chance of life.
Incorporating CORE values of Collabo- gagement with local Aboriginal commuration, Openness, Respect and Em- nities where organ donation is being
powerment an Aboriginal pamphlet discussed in a culturally respectful way.
L>R: Hazel Bridgett, Member NNSW LHD Board; Darlene Rotumah, Generalist / Counsellor Bugalwena Aboriginal Health Service; Mary Campbell, Donation Special Nurse NNSW LHD and
Dr Brian Pezzuti, Chair NNSW LHD Board
The project was written up as a quality improvement project and submitted as part of the NNSW LHD quality
awards for 2013. Having won the
collaborative team category the submission will now be submitted as
part of NSW Health Innovation
Awards.
Mary Campbell
Page 4
Bellinger River Agri-Cultural Show
The MNC LHD O&TD staff supported by
enthusiastic volunteers held a two day
DonateLife Information stall at the Bellinger River Agri-Cultural show. Magnificent autumn weather and a prime location at the showgrounds added to the
success of the day.
This is an annual show with something
for all age groups, and the DonateLife
marquee attracted much attention with
its colourful display & engaging volunteers. Our exposure wasn’t limited to
local residents, many of the stall holders, ride operators and competitors are
visitors to the region and we made a
point of visiting all areas of the show,
with our basket of AODR brochures and
give-away merchandise.
Volunteer students from Bowraville Central School encouraging families to
Discover, Decide and Discuss.
The “Temporary Tattoo Parlour” proved
popular with the youngsters and adults
were keen to have an AODR brochure,
as many hadn’t realised that the NSW
driver licence no longer held donation
wishes.
Having a presence at community events
such as this certainly aids in the normalisation of O&TD and familiarises
people with the DonateLife Logo and
messages.
Anne Judd
Hunter New England Critical Care Conference
The Hunter New England Local Health
District held its 8th Annual Critical
Care Conference in the Vineyards in
May 2013 and once again DonateLife
had a strong presence. The conference supports all areas of Intensive
Care, Emergency, Trauma, Retrieval
Medicine and Coronary Care, therefore, the program is wide and varied.
Australia. Jeanette Lacey presented
this year along with Nicola Stitt from
Monash in Victoria and both presentations were excellent.
They join the alumni of Mary Campbell, Dr Gerry O'Callaghan, Sandy
Thompson, Alison Barnwell and myself from previous years. DonateLife
and ADAPT have had a trade display
It has been a popular conference with for over 5 years. It is a great conferan attendance number exceeding over ence to present at with beginning
270 delegates who come from all over
presenters encouraged and prizes
awarded.
A call for abstracts has just gone out
for the 9th Annual conference next
year to be held on the 8th and 9th
May 2014, so put pen to paper and
get your abstract in. The details will
be circulated via the network.
Nicole Coleman
Page 5
Annual Service 2013
Above: the delightful packets of forget-me-not seeds that were given out as a memento and the forget-me-not message cards that were planted with
personalised messages for loved ones. Below: Janice Brewer playing her beautiful melodies on the harp.
The 2013 Service of Remembrance
and Reflection was once again held
in the Wesley Centre on Saturday
25th May. This was the first combined Service for DonateLife NSW
and Lions NSW Eye Bank with over
350 people attending this special
day. Mr Terry Clout, Chief Executive
of SESLHD kindly officiated at the
proceedings and delivered a very
moving and pertinent reflection.
who died when she was nine years old.
Emma spoke with great admiration and
compassion for her young cousin Chloe
who died when she was only 18 years
old. Both Haley and Emma’s pride in
their loved ones, and their advocacy for
organ donation shone through strongly.
Accompanied by his family, Dr Tim Furlong shared their own family story of
transplantation. His sister Maryanne
received a corneal transplant 25 years
ago which has enabled her to live life to
the full. As a Renal Consultant, Dr Furlong reflected on both his professional
and personal experience and delivered
a very poignant and compassionate
address.
Finally, Dr Con Petsoglou,
Clinical Advisor to the Lions NSW Eye
Bank and Transplant Ophthalmologist
shared the impact of corneal transplantation that he has witnessed firsthand
in caring for patients, and the gratitude
they have expressed.
The theme for the Service focused on
“Remembering in Special Ways” and
used the imagery of the forget-me-not
flower. On arrival everyone was given
a small decorated card upon which to
write some personal words of remembrance. During the Service they
were invited to come forward and
place their cards in the seed trays to
emulate a garden of hope and love.
At the close of the Service packets of
forget-me-not seeds were provided as
a memento to take home and plant Musical interludes throughout the Serin a special space.
vice were provided by Dr Janice Brewer
Haley Tyndall and Emma Husar both on harp. The beautiful melodies comspoke beautifully on behalf of donor plemented the sensitivity of the profamilies. Haley travels from Queen- ceedings perfectly.
sland each year to attend the Service
with her family. She made a very
touching tribute to her father Alan
Once again the photo displays of past
donors proved to be extremely popular, with new photos being added
every year.
DonateLife NSW and Lions NSW Eye
Bank staff members concluded the
Service by leading the congregation in
responsive affirmations. Following the
Service refreshments were served
enabling people to mix freely with
each other and to reunite with staff.
In coming together each year we honour and acknowledge all organ and
tissue donors who have collectively
shown their spirit of generosity and
compassion for others in such an exceptional way.
Although we may only meet them for a
brief period of time, their stories often
touch us deeply and remain etched in
our memories for ever. It is a privilege
to reconnect with them and reaffirm
our friendship and support. I would
like to thank everyone involved for
making it such a meaningful day.
Alison Barnwell
Page 6
Eye & Tissue Bank Opening
The NSW Minister for Health and
Medical Research, Mrs Jillian Skinner, joined staff and guests including transplant recipients Mrs Carol
Ang and Mrs Lina Macri and Lions
representatives from the Lions
Save Sight and Public Health Care
Foundation on the 27th June to
open the new state-of-the-art facility for the Lions NSW Eye Bank and
NSW Bone Bank.
blind because their cornea is cloudy
or irregular in shape due to injury,
disease or infection.
“I’m delighted to see this facility up
and running, bringing together the
essential life-changing work of expert clinicians who will improve the
lives of more than 1,000 people
this year alone,” Minister Skinner
said.
“The waiting list for those needing a
corneal transplant has dropped by
43 per cent in 2012,” Minister Skinner said.
The service is also for the retrieval
and storage of musculoskeletal tissue from living and deceased donors.
Tissue is used for orthopaedic and
neurosurgical procedures for conditions that include delayed fracture
healing, re-do hip replacements,
knee and joint reconstructions and
The Minister also announced imspinal surgery for people of all ages.
proved donation levels for eye and Spinal fusions are undertaken for
bone tissue, supporting the aims of children suffering severe scoliosis, to
the 2012 NSW Government Plan to stabilise their spine, improve their
increase organ and tissue donation ability to breathe and improve quality
rates.
of life.
This new facility located at Sydney
Hospital, is a state-wide clinical
service for the identification and
coordination of eye and tissue donors, and the retrieval, storage,
preparation and distribution of corneas in NSW and the ACT. These
corneas are transplanted to restore
vision for people who have become
“Those donating the femoral head of
the hip socket has increased by 51
per cent, while cadaveric musculoskeletal donors are up 16 per cent,
improving the lives of more than 450
recipients.”
“This is evidence of the success of
the Government’s promotion of organ
and tissue donation. While we still
have some way to go, these new figures reveal a pleasing improvement
in NSW donation rates.”
Carol Ang, Terry Clout, MP Hon. Jillian Skinner, Lina Macri and
Jane Treloggen outside the new Eye and Tissue Bank
Minister Skinner toured the new facility with Dr Robert Herkes, State Medical Director, NSW Organ and Tissue
Donation Service, Ms Jane Treloggen,
Manager of the Lions NSW Eye Bank
and NSW Bone Bank, Mr Terry Clout,
Chief Executive, Organ and Tissue
Donation Service and South Eastern
Sydney Local Health District, Mrs
Janet McDonald, Board Member,
South Eastern Sydney Local Health
District and Professor Frank Billson
former Medical Director of the Lions
NSW Eye Bank. Unfortunately the current Medical Directors, Professor
Gerard Sutton and Dr Richard Boyle,
were not able to attend due to the
change in date.
The State Medical Director of the
NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service, Dr Robert Herkes, said “2012
was an impressive year for the Lions
NSW Eye Bank with 483 eye donors,
an increase of more than 26% from
2011. The outcome of this was 740
corneal transplants were performed
and the corneal transplant waitlist fell
by 43% in 2012”
“I would like to take this opportunity
to acknowledge and thank the generosity of all our donors and their families”, Dr Herkes said.
Jane Treloggen
Lab Manager Raj Devasahayam, shows Minister Skinner the cornea
storage facility
Page 7
Multicultural Health Communication Award
Hristina Treneska (ISLHD Multicultural Health Services), Peter Todaro (Dir NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service), Helen Tsalidis(ISLHD
Multicultural health Services), Miriam Nonu (ISLHD Donation Specialist Nurse), Dr Lyn Phillipson (Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong), and Hon Don Hawin MP (President, Legislative Council) at the Multicultural Health Communications Service awards ceremony 8/7/13.
The NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service rewards good
practice in multicultural communication by organising a bi-annual
award program. To which Having
Your Questions Answered about
Organ and Tissue Donation and
Sharing Our Ideas and Beliefs won
Best Resource produced from a
budget of $5,000 or more.
A collaboration between the Centre
for Health Initiatives University of
Wollongong, Illawarra Shoalhaven
Local Health District (ISLHD) Multicultural Health Services and ISLHD
Organ & Tissue Donation Service
produced three booklets and three
brochures addressing the topic of
organ and tissue donation. These
resources were based on research
with three orthodox religious communities within the ISLHD, and developed
in collaboration with these communities to respond to their unique issues
and concerns.
The resources are available in Greek,
Serbian and Macedonia languages
http://www.donatelife.gov.au/
resources/culturally-and-linguisticallydiverse-audiences
The resources discuss organ and tissue donation, address questions
raised by the orthodox communities,
discusses perceptions and challenges
misunderstandings from a culturally
and religiously sensitive perspective.
Endorsed statements from the Serbian
and Greek Orthodox diocesan clarify
the position of each in regard to organ
and tissue donation, and are included
in the resources.
Miriam Nonu
This project was funded through the
Australian Government Organ & Tissue
Authority Community Awareness Grant.
Page 8
Cycle for Life
Barry Longland delivered many of the
key DonateLife messages. A local recipient Richard Head told the gathering
how a liver donation had saved his life
which meant that he was here today
some 10 year later watching his children grow up. Richard acknowledged
his donor family for having the courage
to support their family member’s wish.
Dr Mike Lindley Jones reminded everybeach road then up a moderate (!!!) one to register their wishes on the
hill climb before enjoying some flat AODR and more importantly to let their
terrain and returning back into Kings- family know their wishes.
cliff. The ride took between 1 ½ hours
for more conditioned cyclists and ap- A sausage sizzle was provided by Kingsproximately 3 hours for those not so cliff Rotary.
Mary Campbell
conditioned. A refreshment stop was
provided at the midway point for both
cycle routes.
The inaugural Cycle of Life was shirts.
held on 7th July 2013 at Kingscliff At the initial briefing Dr Mike Lindley
(NNSW LHD)
Jones spoke of the importance of makThe aim of this event was to en- ing a decision about organ donation
gage an otherwise potentially un- and letting your family know those
tapped group of community mem- wishes, so that the lives of many Ausbers to hear the important mes- tralian’s could be saved.
sages of Discover, Decide and The cyclists set off with both a lead
Discuss.
vehicle and back up vehicle along a
Over 100 road cyclist participated
in the 45km road cycle and 35
people mainly parents and children participated in the cycle path
option.
60 road cyclists were provided
with a DonateLife cycle jersey
which was the envy of those that
did not have one, while the cycle
path cyclists wore DonateLife T At the completion of the cycle Mayor
Cyclists in the early morning sun getting ready to ride
Mayor Barry Longland and Mary Campbell at the sausage sizzle
Enjoying a well earned rest
The scenic cycle route splashed with magenta jerseys
Page 9
NAIDOC Aboriginal Health Week
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, its origins can
be traced to the emergence of
Aboriginal groups in the 1920’s
which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of
the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.
NAIDOC is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and an opportunity to recognise the contribution of Indigenous
Australians in various fields. Many
celebrations took place through
out the country.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health
District Donation Specialist Nurse
Miriam Nonu and Rebecca Dawson
Aboriginal Chronic Care Unit Program
Coordinator took part in the NAIDOC
Family Fun Days at Nowra Showground
Wednesday 10th July and at “The
Land” Windang Friday 12th July.
Both days were part of the week long
national NAIDOC celebrations and
were well attended by Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal communities celebrating together. The events were full of
cultural experiences and traditions
highlighting healthy living and included
opportunistic health assessments,
access to services, strengthening reconciliation practices, rides, amusements and Aboriginal entertainment
including arts, music and media.
Brooke Malcon (pictured below) was at
the Nowra Showground embracing the
2013 NAIDOC Celebrations. She had
been sharing health related information including Organ and Tissue Donation with the Shoalhaven Aboriginal
Community but took a break from
helping out at one of the many stalls to
have some fun with the National Parks
and Wildlife’s snake, Thelma.
Brooke supports tissue and organ donation, her personal belief is to provide others the quality of life they may
not have had and one of her favourite
sayings is “The best feeling in life, is
giving”.
Miriam Nonu & Rebecca Dawson
Family Fun Day “The
Land” at Windang 
Brooke with Thelma says “the best
feeling is giving’
The “Who Ya Gunna Call” Forum is
an annual event organised by the
Aboriginal Health Team in Coffs Harbour to coincide with Naidoc week
and school holidays. Held in the
Coffs Harbour Showground pavilion,
the event enables service providers
to engage with the community in a
fun & festive environment. Cultural
entertainment, family focused activities and a free Bush Tucker BBQ
lunch is provided.
The MNC O&TD team display featured DonateLife messages incorporating local Aboriginal artist’s work,
MNC
LHD’s
Anne
Judd at
the stand
and the NNSWLHD Indigenous brochures which certainly proved a conversation starter.
A looped video-clip of Indigenous NRL
players discussing Organ & Tissue
Donation and emphasising the importance of family discussions was popular with young adults.

Volunteers
Helium balloons are always a draw- blow up
card with the youngsters, and offer balloons
staff an opportunity to engage with 
parent/carers whilst waiting for the
balloons to fill.
Anne Judd
Page 10
bstreetsmart
The shocking reality is that much of
NSW’s road trauma amongst our youth
IS preventable! Young people, typically in their late teens and early twenties are often associated with experimentation, impulsiveness and risk
taking. These traits sometimes lead to
young drivers overestimating their own
abilities and underestimating the risk
associated with driving which can of
course lead to tragic situations on our
roads.
In a bid to change all of this, a partnership between Westmead Hospital
Trauma Service, the NRMA Motoring
and Services Association and a number of other supporting organisations,
have been producing the highly successful and deeply thought provoking
‘bstreetsmart’ event (previously known
as the Youth Road Trauma Forum) at
Allphones Arena.
This year saw more than 17,000 high
school students from schools around
NSW attend over three days where
they witness an intensely realistic
crash scene simulation featuring a Pplate driver demonstrating risky behaviours such as alcohol consumption,
texting while driving and speeding.
Make no mistake, the aftermath that
ensues is meant to be shocking (in
fact several of the young audience
fainted)! Real life emergency crews
attend the scene that includes not only
traumatic injuries and a fatality and
use real life equipment such as the
‘jaws of life’ to accurately portray the
carnage and the lasting effects that
such an accident can cause on all people involved.
Then as if the visualisation of this is
not
enough,
participants
at
bstreetsmart hear from a few courageous young people from the brain
injury unit, all of whom have suffered
brain injuries and life-long disabilities
as a result of motor vehicle accidents.
Each one tells of the normal activities
they were undertaking at the exact
moment when their lives were
changed forever and how their once
ambitious hopes and dreams were
diminished to simply hoping that
someday they might be able to walk
or feed themselves again.
During the break students leave the
arena to peruse the interactive displays which are all associated with
cars, driving and road trauma. The
DonateLife stall is bright and colourful attracting hordes of teens eager
to fill in our quiz to potentially win
themselves an iTunes gift voucher.
Hopefully, with the answers on the
display behind us, they will also have
learnt a little about organ donation
along the way. Drink bottles, wrist
bands, tattoos and phone/tablet
screen cleaners were handed out in
the hundreds, all in the hope that
they would go home and ’have the
chat that saves lives’.
The day closes with another real life
story this time from an inspirational
young woman who is paralysed from
her waist down and confined to a
wheelchair, a story from the other
side of the tragedy an organ recipient who beautifully told how her life
had been changed and the message
was clear: Organ Donors save lives
and talking to your family about your
wish to become an organ donor is
vital.
A huge thank you to Nicola Dykes
and Monica Walker who put in an
enormous effort to co-ordinate the 3
days (including the incredibly realistic
crash scene special effects make-up)
and to all those who volunteered
their time to help out at the stand.
Samantha Glanville
Page 11
Commonwealth Bank AgQuip Field Days
Jeanette Lacey ready to spruik the DonateLife message
Commonwealth Bank AgQuip Field
Days was held in the small town of
Gunnedah, NSW, over 20th, 21st,
22nd August 2013. This event is
considered to be one of the largest
agricultural shows and rural markets in the world, attracting over
100,000 visitors every year. This
year we were lucky enough to be
given a 3m x 3m stand in the shopping arcade of the show, which
meant that we were able to raise a
huge amount of community awareness of organ and tissue donation
amongst the rural community of
NSW.
The overall feedback we received
from the crowd was fabulous. In
total we handed out 1920 registration pamphlets and with the use of
a make-shift "post box" on site we
obtained 43 on-the-spot registrations. In six months time we will
contact the registry office and complete a retrospective audit of the
amount of new registrations in the
surrounding areas to get an idea of
Pretty in ‘Magenta” - the DonateLife stall at AgQuip
how effective the stand was.
The stand out issue that became evident during the three days was that
the majority of people were not aware
that the RTA registry has been discontinued and that they now need to register on the Australian Organ Donor
Registry. We can easily say that at
least 90% of the visitors that we spoke
with did not know this. Although we
were amazed by this observation it
also meant that we had an attention
grabbing sentence to attract people
over to the stall.
Other interesting points that were repeatedly raised by the visitors were
that organ and tissue donation should
be conducted using an "op-out" system
and also the disappointment in many
people's opinions that despite registering a "yes" on the registry their senior
next of kin can refuse donation on
their behalf. These points prompted
great conversations between ourselves and the visitors, and hopefully
their families and friends back in the
community.
Although we had a significant number
of people avoid the stand, muttering
things like "I've already got a charity to
donate to" and "I don't have any
change on me" etc, on the contrary, we
had a large number of people approach the stand wanting to donate
their loose change, only to be told that
we do not accept monetary donations
and that we were here to raise community awareness.
We met with a wide age range of people from young children and enthusiastic teenagers all the way up to the elderly. We had quite a few recipients
themselves and also families of donors approach our stand to tell their
story. There were many and varying
opinions within the crowd, however
overall a very supportive outlook for
Australia's organ and tissue donation
service. Jeanette and I believe that
this was an extremely worthwhile community event.
Emily Daley
Page 12
Aussie Alice
Congratulations to Alice Coulson on becoming an Australian Citizen. The ceremony was
held on 25 July at Alf Kay Community Hall,
Botany. After seven years of living in Australia
Alice reported she is relieved to no longer
have to rely on visas to remain living and
working here. Colleagues at the NSW Organ
and Tissue Donation Office decorated her
desk with Australian flags and bunting, and
reminded her that it was now a requirement
to use up her annual quota of sick leave!
Alice Coulson with hubby Adam and baby Henry at the
ceremony
Jeans for Genes High Tea
On Friday 2nd August, the admin girls filled with chocolates, Tim Tams,
at the state office held a “High Tea Crunchie Bars, biscuits, fantastic nooFundraiser” for Jean for Genes Day.
dles and lots more. Juliana was the
The afternoon was a great success. All lucky winner of the basket but she
staff who were in the office that day announced that she would share with
attended, along with Eleni, Christine all the coordinators!
and Lisa. Danielle Fisher had been
hosting a CALD meeting so brought
along Peter Todaro, Michael Camit,
Shiva Ford and Chris Gollan from the
NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service.
The lucky door prizes made the afternoon, Victoria was having so much
fun she donated her prize back, then
took the box of tickets and drew out
more winners. Ellie got extra chocolates and a DonateLife tie from her
office to add to the prize pool. Leslie
even won a jar of Vegemite although We were tired at the end of the day but
no-one saw it coming and we still very satisfied with the overwhelming
can’t work out where it came from!
success of the afternoon. All the
Special thanks go to Mona who pro- money collected ($176) was deposited
vided the scones, strawberry jam, in the “Jeans for Genes” account.
The afternoon was a lot of fun and
there were 3 lucky door prizes to be
won. Thanks to Mona who had donated a $30 lunch voucher and 10
Coffees from the café across the road
and Maria who donated a “survival
basket of goodies for coordinators” cream and cucumber for sandwiches.
Perfect Hosts; Kerrie, Maria, Barbara & Mona
To Maria for the 4 different teas
(Japanese Green Tea, English breakfast, Peppermint and Lady Grey),
smoked salmon, cream cheese and
dill for sandwiches. To Barbara for the
selection of cheeses, biscuits and
strawberries. I made home made Florentine biscuits, brought bread for the
sandwiches, linen & lace tablecloths
and serviettes, plus fine china teacups. All of us girls made the sandwiches and served those who attended.
High Tea Hi-jinx
Kerrie Burgess
Kerrie with the beautifully set high tea table
Page 13
DonateLife Caps Make a Splash at the City 2 Surf
My team of 16 lined up for the City2Surf on Sunday,
11th August 2013. I could not run after catching the
flu a few days earlier but I still walked the 14km distance to raise funds for my charity, the Breast Cancer
Institute of Australia.
DonateLife provided pink caps for us which made it
easy to find each other in the sea of 85,000 people
who ran, walked and staggered through Heartbreak
Hill in 25 degree heat! Like a wounded soldier, I was
relieved to cross the line at Bondi Beach in 2 hours
and 20 minutes. The best time in our team was 13
minutes behind the winner.
I think there should be a NSWOTDS team next year!
Maria Azanza-Neill
Maria’s Team from L>R: James Ahern, John Neill, Maria Neill, Beck Pezutti,
James Pezutti and Joe Cracknell
Taking DonateLife into the Community
Guy Newton is a familiar face around
Coffs Harbour Health Campus. As the
Grounds & Garden Maintenance Officer,
Guy established and maintains the Organ and Tissue Donation Remembrance
Rose Garden and was involved with the
planting of a Transplant Australia
“Thank You Rose” donated to the hospital by a grateful family.
DonateLife T-shirts were specially created for the MNC LHD, a collaborative
project between Gumbaynggirr artist
Ceretha Skinner and the Australian
Organ & Tissue Authority.
By taking the DonateLife message onto
the Touch Footy field Guy hopes others
will be encouraged to discover the facts
about Organ & Tissue Donation and
Guy, an enthusiastic Touch Footballer, share their Donation wishes with family
shared his passion for Organ & Tissue and friends.
Donation Awareness with fellow team
Anne Judd
members which has resulted in a renaming of their Touch football team to
“DonateLifers” and proudly wearing
DonateLife T-shirts on the field. The
Guy Newton (centre) with team members Trent
Newlyn, Daniel Nash, Mana Tewhatu, Neihana
Milne
MNC LHD Donation Specialist Nurse Anne Judd
holds the DonateLife heart with Guy Newton
(centre) and the team
Guy Newton proudly wears his DonateLife
T- shirt
L>R Guy Newton, Neihana Milne, Daniel Nash,
Mana Tewhatu, Trent Newlyn
Page 14
From Juliana’s Desk
Diary Dates
It certainly has continued to be a busy few
months from April to August with the high
organ donation activity continuing. Thank
you for the ongoing hard work and commitment from all staff in the sector.
Ms Michelle Dowd will be taking up the
position of DSN at SWSLHD until January
2014. Recruitment is currently being undertaken for the DSN roles at Sydney
Children’s Network and POWH.
In the spirit of ongoing collaboration, sharing of ideas and resources and following on
from the DonateLife Victoria (DLV) visit to
NSWOTDS in March, a follow up visit in
April by Dr Robert Herkes, Victoria Nesire
and me was hosted by DLV. DLV showcased a number of interesting initiatives
including a regular workshop on organ donation provided for Operating Theatre
nurses and a very well-produced educational DVD on DCD. We were also able to
attend the DLV Network meeting which was
an excellent opportunity to network with
our Donation Specialist colleagues from
across the jurisdiction.
The 2nd annual NSW Forum is fast approaching and the program looks very
interesting and demonstrates the quality
of work being undertaken across the sector. This year a number of our colleagues
from the transplant sector have been
invited and this will provide another opportunity for us to build on the collaboration between the two sectors.
As many of you know Ellie McCann is
leaving the sector to take up a senior role
in education at WSLHD, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank Ellie for all
her support and wish her well in all her
future endeavours. Also as you can see
There have again been some staff move- from the photo below there will be a disment in the Network and the staff vacan- tinct shortage of Caramello Koalas in the
cies and increased activity have had an state office!
enormous impact on the DSCs in the state To all in the network keep up the great
office and also across the broader DL Net- work. We are indeed in the midst of great
work. An additional 2.4 full time equivalent change and excitement at this time in
positions have been approved for the state this sector in NSW.
office with 1.4 already recruited and further
recruitment to be undertaken in the next 612 months, depending on activity. Trevor
Juliana Celcer
Rock has now been permanently appointed
to the DSC role and Marnie Ponton, DSN at
SWSLHD, and Eleni Zahou, DSN at POWH
are taking up temporary positions with the
state office commencing 2nd September
2013. Congratulations to Trevor, Marnie
and Eleni.
Sarah Pearson, Donation Specialist Nurse,
from the Sydney Children’s Network has
resigned from the role and I would like to
thank Sarah for all her hard work while she
was with the DL Network.
WE
3rd September
NSW Annual Forum
Aerial Room, UTS
Sydney NSW
4th September
Ultimo Tafe Expo
Mary Anne Street
Ultimo NSW 2007
17th –19th September
Henty Machinery Field Days
Cookardinia Road
Henty NSW 2658
24th—25th October
Transplant Nurses Association
Conference
Darling Harbour NSW
25th—27th October
NSW Rural Womens Gathering
Scone High School
Gundy Road
Scone NSW 2337
10th November
Sutho Cops & Rodders Show
Boys Town Playing Fields
Woronora Road
Engadine NSW
21st—24th November
12th Congress of International
Society of Organ Donation
Darling Harbour NSW
NSW Organ & Tissue
Donation Service
PO Box 486
Kogarah NSW 1485
P: 02 8566 1700
F: 02 8566 1755
www.donatelife.gov.au
WELCOME YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR NEWSLETTER— PLEASE FORWARD YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS TO
NSWORGANDONATION@ SESIAHS. HEALTH. NSW. GOV. AU