Ensuring New Zealand's district boards have strong links with Organ Donation NZ is one way deceased organ donor rates could be improved, believes Bay of Plenty DHB chief executive Helen Mason.

The Ministry of Health is currently reviewing the country's deceased organ donation rates and in May released a consultation document setting out changes which could lead to an improvement in rates.

The Ministry of Health says improving the driver license system so medical are informed if someone has indicated they would like to become a donor is one suggestion for improving rates. Photo: File

Information revealed to SunLive under the Official Information Act shows there was just the one organ donation in the Bay of Plenty DHB coverage area in 2016. The year before, the total number of donations was zero.

Helen says BOPDHB has always participated in organ donation, and historically, most donors were from traumatic brain injury.

'Over the last five years Tauranga Hospital has received fewer and fewer cases of TBI. This is due to a national reduction in TBI from ACC initiatives and improved drink driving policing initiatives, and probably cars getting safer,” she explains.

'Furthermore the Central Midlands Regional Trauma network is far more advanced than other regional trauma networks in NZ, and cases of TBI are appropriately bypassing Tauranga Hospital.”

Because of this reduction, Helen says across the country more emphasis is being placed on organ procurement from victims of stroke or advanced brain cancer, with emphasis on donation after cardiac death (DCD), and not just donation after brain death.

'DCD is typically achieved when extubating a not brain dead person (but assured poor outcome) to comfort care in an environment (theatre) that organs can be procured once the heart stops beating.

'This only happens in the five main centres, and BOPDHB is not a credentialed DCD centre. Hence, any such patients get extubated to comfort care and represent lost DCD opportunities in those hospitals that are not credentialed DCD centres.”

To that effect, by ensuring district health boards around the country have strong links with Organ Donation NZ could be one way of improving deceased donation rates.

'ODNZ provides an ever increasing amount of support for hospitals to participate in organ donation,” says Helen.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Helen Mason

In 2015, there were 53 deceased donors in New Zealand – 11.8 donors per million population – which is up from 46 in 2014 and 36 in 2013.

But by comparison, Australia's organ donation rate last year was 18.3 donors per million population, while Spain had the highest organ donation rate at 39.7 donors per million.

The consultation document released by the ministry in May sets out a number of proposals for increasing rates which include raising awareness, standardising the way hospitals identify potential donors and how donation is discussed with families.

The Government has also invested $8 million in a variety of initiatives aimed at increasing organ donation and transplantation. This includes support and education for hospital staff, work to help overcome cultural barriers and donor liaison co-ordinators.

Another suggestion has been to improve the driver licence system so medical staff are informed if someone has indicated they would like to become a donor.

But driver licence donor information is not routinely used by clinicians, due to concerns about the lack of information about organ donation provided to people at the time they apply for a driver licence.

To view the consultation document visit the Ministry of Health website at: www.health.govt.nz or for more information about organ donation visit www.donor.co.nz