Stewart Barbara: Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Stewart Barbara: Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports the intent of this bill and will support its passage to select committee. We must congratulate Dr Blue and Mr Tookey on their efforts to increase the awareness of organ donation and on their bill that together they have brought to the House. In New Zealand First we are very aware that those countries that have followed this very same line have found that organ donation rates did not increase significantly. I was interested to read in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 recently that doctors believed that this bill is unworkable and they intend to oppose it for a whole variety of reasons which we will no doubt find out over the next few weeks. 
 However by voting the bill through to the select committee the public of New Zealand will have the opportunity to comment on the bill and suggest appropriate amendments which we need them to do. It is a fact that donor rates are declining internationally and the New Zealand rate of organ donation is no exception to this trend. Fewer organ transplants are being carried out here for a whole variety of reasons. So it is not only a New Zealand problem; it is an international one. As the Minister has said all countries are looking at ways to improve the rate of organ donation and this type of legislation may be one of the ways that helps to raise the profile of organ donation and perhaps result in an increase in various organs for donation. We know that the 2004 figure was very low as it has been in many years and the Minister has said that our rate is among the lowest in the Western World. 
We were pleased in New Zealand First to see that the bill discusses setting up an opt-on register. We believe that most people when they tick the donor box on the driver-licensing application believe they will be a donor but this is actually not the case unfortunately. There is no link between the land transport and the health databases. So one must wonder why people are asked during the driver-licensing process about becoming a donor when their decision cannot be enforced. The proposed register in this bill allows people to indicate which organs they wish to donate and whether these donations can be for therapeutic use or used for medical education or research. We say that people need to be aware of the necessity of communicating their wishes for donation to their families. 
I note that a national donor register would make this unnecessary but it still can come as a shock to a grieving family that their loved family member wishes this course of action to occur. I am very aware too that at this point in time family members can and do overrule the dying family member’s wish. 
Aligned to the rate of organ donation is the need for further education of the public in this area. People do need to know more about organ donation and the uses various organs can be put to. Perhaps this bill may lead to increased donor awareness and give people the right to have their wishes respected. 
As I said earlier research from overseas indicates that this type of legislation has not resulted in significant increases in donor rates but we must acknowledge that some action is better than no action. I am reminded of the saying that failure is not the worst thing in the world the very worst thing is not to try. 
The medical ethics surrounding organ donation will need to be carefully explored during the select committee process. We must be very clear about these as the grieving family definitely has rights too. Hopefully the medical profession will be participating in the select committee process to guide our deliberations in this area. New Zealand First acknowledges that this bill is well meaning and there are issues surrounding organ donation that do need some clarification and public discussion. So we will be most interested to hear the views of the submitters to the select committee.