LifeSharers
LifeSharers Newsletter - July
I
have also included on this mailing list, members of the GiveLife database. GiveLife is our
campaign for reform of the organ donor system. This we started six years ago
and have had some successes as well as setbacks. A little
more about that further in this newsletter.
For
those GiveLife members receiving this and not signed up with LifeSharers check
out the website at www.lifesharers.org.nz
However,
you do not need to sign up as a member to get the newsletter; you can opt for
the newsletter only by clicking
here.
Funeral costs for organ donors?
In the last newsletter I
said that I had been trying to get the government to pay the costs of organ
donors’ funeral expenses. We thought it was the least they could do as one
organ donor saves the health system many thousands of dollars by getting others
off expensive machines and treatment. It would also partly acknowledge the
great contribution that the donor had made to society in the saving of lives.
I also said that I
would like to look further into paying a contribution to the funeral costs of
LifeSharers members if they become donors.
The
Minister of Health has said the government can’t pay the funeral costs of
donors because under the new law (ironically enough it was a government bill
that was just passed) So under ‘his’ new law he says
it would be illegal to pay the costs. This also means that it would be illegal
for me to do so for LifeSharers members.
Further
confirmation of this was made by a Ministry of Health Spokesperson in an
article in the Herald on Sunday this
weekend. Here is the quote:
‘Transplant campaigner Andy Tookey said he wanted the
Government to foot the funeral bill for dead donors as an incentive. Deborah
Roche from the Ministry of Health said a new law governing organ transplants
prohibited providing "financial or other consideration" for human
tissue. This also applied to funeral expenses.’ (Click
here for the full article) there were two other articles on organ donation
in the HOS. Click the links to read them. (Waiting
for life) and (Gift
of true friendship)
So it
appears that their only reason for not doing so is because ‘they’ made it
illegal in the first place. But wait, there’s more…
Section 56 of the bill ‘generally prevents trading in human tissue.’
But then in Section 60 there is a clause
that the Minister has forgotten about and his hundreds of high paid bureaucrats at
the Ministry of Health have missed. It’s a shame it takes a member of the
public to point out items in their own bill. Section 60 states:
‘The Minister may,
in his or her discretion, on any terms and conditions he or she thinks fit, and
by notice in writing,
exempt a person or
persons or a class of persons from compliance with any or all of the provisions
of—(a) section 56 (trading in human tissue generally prohibited)’:
Now
that I have pointed that out to them I wonder what their next excuse will be?
Public awareness campaign
The government,
just before the 2005 election promised an organ donor register and there are
many documents, comments and recommendations from them and others on having a
public awareness campaign to help raise the number of people prepared to be a
donor. They have them for drink driving, seatbelts, speeding etc, and last week
So you may wonder
how much has
Well, National MP Dr. Jackie Blue (Associate Spokesperson
for Health) also wondered where we were at so asked a Parliamentary Written
Question recently:
6369 (2008). Dr Jackie Blue to the Associate Minister of Health
Further to then reply to written question 8308
(2003) how much has the Ministry of Health spent on organ donation public
awareness for each of the past five years; are there plans are there for a
public awareness programme and if so when is this
likely to happen and what is the budget and the time-line?
Yesterday came the reply:
Hon Mita
Ririnui (Associate
Minister of Health) replied: No Ministry of Health
money has been spent on organ donation public awareness in the past five financial
years, and there are no Ministry of Health plans for a public awareness
campaign.
Of course the
organ donor register has now been dumped also, as according to a Ministry of
Health Spokesman. ‘We are not capable of
giving consent to be an organ donor.’
Plans to stop
LifeSharers..?
It
doesn’t end there. It appears they are trying to lower the donor rate rather
than increase it.
I
have recently got hold of some information under the Official Information Act that shows that they don’t like you (the
owner of your organs) having a legal right to have a say as to where your organs
go to.
So as
not to go into information overload I’ll save that little gem for the next
newsletter. I am sure you will be outraged that they are planning to strip you
of your legal rights in this regard!
TV Programmes
Eye to Eye – with Willie Jackson – This coming Sunday at 11.30am
TV ONE. (Also repeated on Freeview TVNZ 7 on Monday
The programme will
be about organ donation and will have four MP’s from different parties on the
panel. I was due to be on the panel for this programme but got bumped off. They
have asked me though to write some of the questions for Willie to put to the
panel.
Documentary (1) I have been asked by a documentary maker if I can
find anyone who is considering going overseas to get a transplant. They would
like to do a ‘fly on the wall’ doco following you
through the transplant. Please email info@lifesharers.org.nz
if this applies to you!
Documentary (2) another programme maker is looking for participants
also. Here is part of the email sent to me:
‘… An upcoming TV show about
reuniting families or people who have been important to them. I wondered
if you might know of anyone looking to track down either an organ donor's
family or a recipient, and whether we could help them in their search. I know
this is not usually encouraged, but it does happen, and we think it would be a
human story about one family's gift to another, plus would help in awareness
about organ donation. We would want to film a reunion of the two families or
people involved….’
If
you are interested, let me know and I will pass on your details.
New Members
Needed!
Just
a reminder that for LifeSharers to be successful we need as many members as possible!
An
easy way to let others know about LifeSharers is to go to the email section of ‘Spread the Word’ (Click here) and just enter
your friends, family or colleagues email addresses. An automated email with all
the details of LifeSharers will be sent to them without you needing to copy
& paste text.
Friends
in the USA
Why
not encourage them to join the
Feel
free to email us if you have any
comments, suggestions or questions about LifeSharers or organ donation in
general.
Kind
Regards
Andy
Tookey
Director
LifeSharers
NZ