Chadwick Steve: Human Tissue Bill — First Reading 
Chadwick Steve: Human Tissue Bill — First Reading 
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STEVE CHADWICK (Labour—Rotorua) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a call on this Human Tissue Bill. I have been very involved with this issue from my previous role at Rotorua Hospital where we dealt with the issue of organ donation and the desperate need for organ donors for our Maori population. 
I want to acknowledge the role of Andy Tookey who brought a petition to the Health Committee and he has been mentioned by other members. I think he made a very significant step in the history of Organ Donation New Zealand and the Health Committee took great note of the issues of organ donation the falling rate of organ donation and some of the cultural sensitivity issues that Tariana Turia has raised tonight. 
The Health Committee made several recommendations to this Government and I am really pleased that so many of our recommendations have been picked up. This was the last piece of the puzzle that I tried to begin to get leverage on with a member’s bill until I went to meet the intensivists at Auckland Hospital. They said to me—and this was about an opt-on link with informed consent at the time of getting one’s motor driver’s licence—that whereas those of us who were benevolent said: “Yes take every workable part and use them for anybody who is desperate for these organs or tissues.” the time of death and dying in intensive care was not the time to confront a family with organ donation issues. 
The intensivists said that they would not take any notice of an informed consent given on a motor vehicle driver’s licence. I thought about that matter long and hard and then dropped my intention to have a member’s bill. I congratulate Jackie Blue on picking it up again because the issue is not resolved. But at the time I was doing that work in 2004 the Ministry of Health was going around and having extensive consultation in the community on this proposed bill. I felt very heartened about that as a member’s bill is always too small to deal with such a significant and very large issue that will have financial implications. 
The Ministry of Health went around several iwi groups and had many many consultation meetings. I went to one in Rotorua and heard some of the expressions we have heard from the Maori Party but oddly there is always another side. I met several families who said: “If we are involved primarily with our general practitioner and our primary health organisation and we understand how they take our organs when we are declared brain-dead what those organs are used for and that procedure kai te pai we do not feel quite so frightened about this.” 
Then I had a very dear friend die of a benign brain tumour. Her family went through exactly the issue of what they were going to do with mum’s organs. Seven people have benefited from her organs and that family today—a Maori family—feel absolutely delighted that although they lost their mother seven families have benefited from the sensitive way in which the intensivists carried that family through making the decision about organ donation. 
I believe that this bill is a comprehensive and integrated approach to dealing with organ donation the use of tissue from the deceased the opt-on provision and the linking of motor drivers’ licences with the organ donation register which will only flag to intensivists that a family has had that discussion and that the patient has agreed to be an organ donor. It will help the intensivists but it will not necessarily mean that they will override the wishes of the family. I think that will be a very interesting issue for the Health Committee. 
I agree and so does the Minister that along with this bill we have to have other effective mechanisms for raising public awareness not only on the issue of keeping ourselves healthy but also about why we need to be looking at this exponential rise in the need for organ donation. It is about an integrated approach. I applaud the Ministry of Health for its very considered and consultative approach. We can always criticise those who go out and consult then find pockets in our community who did not even know that this was in the pipeline. 
The bill integrates several Acts around organ donation and the collection and use of human tissue. It has been 20 years in the asking and I am really pleased that in our time in Government we will be considering this bill. There will be healthy debate and I am sure that the intensivists the very ones concerned about the timing of the discussion on donation—harvesting as we call it—will be involved in the procedure of coming before the select committee. It is a great bill and I am really pleased to see it here. 
This bill follows on from the Coroners Bill in which we learnt about the need for cultural sensitivity and education on the care of the deceased and the need to involve the family so as to uphold the family’s wishes for the deceased. I think it is absolutely timely that this bill follows the Coroners Bill. 
I find it a comprehensive bill with a scope far bigger than what a member’s bill could ever hope to address because of the financial implications involved. I look forward to the deliberation of the select committee. I am sure that with Sue Kedgley chairing the committee it will come up with a very sensible outcome.