Soper Lesley: Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Soper Lesley: Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:643;Page:12899] 
LESLEY SOPER (Labour) 
: 
 As the deputy chair of the Health Committee I rise to speak on the Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill with some feeling. This bill was referred to the select committee with wide support from most parties with acknowledgment given to Mr Andy Tookey and Jackie Blue for doing the work on the bill but with some reservations around its intent and likely effectiveness. It was referred to the select committee with Labour’s support because there was definite acknowledgment that New Zealand’s organ transplant rate was one of the lowest in the world and that we needed to do anything that could reasonably be done to improve that rate in order that the detail around organ donation particularly the international evidence on the establishment and effectiveness of organ donation registers could be examined. 
The bill was also referred to the select committee to give the public a chance to comment on a very emotive topic and it has certainly stimulated and increased discussion about organ donation. At the time the bill was referred it was signalled that the Labour Government had a broader and more comprehensive bill in preparation to replace the Human Tissue Act 1964. That bill the Human Tissue Bill which deals broadly with the collection and use of tissue from dead human bodies was introduced in 2006 and referred to the Health Committee and much of the evidence on the two bills has been heard together. 
The Health Committee has heard much heartfelt and very emotional debate on organ donation. We have heard the views of members of the public who have experienced the death of loved ones. We have heard the views of intensivists who actually make the decisions in our intensive care units. We have heard the views of those who want organ donation with no family veto and the views of many including tangata whenua who want whanau to have the ability to make an overriding objection. We have heard about the general lack of awareness of organ donation realities in New Zealand and all of us on the select committee would probably say that we are now much more educated than we were on just how many organs are actually available for donation in any given year in New Zealand. 
We have heard of the inadequacy of the current driver’s licence register and we have heard family members say that they wished they had known what their loved ones had actually wanted done with their organs and that they would definitely have that discussion with their families in the future. I do not think it would be too much to say that no members of the Health Committee are now in any doubt themselves about discussing this issue with family members if they have not already done so and about discussing the need for further education and promotion of organ donation. However we have also heard clear evidence that there is as yet no compelling evidence that an organ and tissue donor register increases the overall rate of organ and tissue donation and that was found after a wide canvassing of the international experience. 
The Health Committee has elected to recommend that this bill not be passed as the compelling evidence for a legally binding register is not available at this time. However the select committee has recommended the inclusion of a clause in the Government’s Human Tissue Bill to permit the establishment of an opt-on organ and tissue donor register should the evidence make that a desirable course in the future. Evidence did point to increased public awareness about organ and tissue donation improvements in processes around donation and improvements in coordination between agencies as being most likely to lead to improvements in donation rates. Organ Donation New Zealand which was set up last year has initiatives under way in this area and welfare assistance for living donors is already available. 
I also need to point out that the Government’s Human Tissue Bill aims clearly for a balance between respect for the wishes of the deceased person and the cultural and spiritual needs of the family. It endeavours to treat all with dignity and respect. Jackie Blue’s organ donation bill does not acknowledge the needs of the deceased individual’s family. The Government bill also regulates trading in tissue export and import of tissue and use of tissue for non-therapeutic purposes. It establishes a crucial new consent framework for the donation of human tissue and in all respects it is broader in scope than the Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill we are currently discussing. 
I am very comfortable to commend the Government bill and to oppose the passage of the now unnecessary Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill. In conclusion I need to point out that the National Party has not opposed the decision of the select committee that the Human Tissue (Organ Donation) Amendment Bill not be passed. It did not put in a minority report opposing that decision. Thank you.