29 July 2024

This week marks DonateLife Week, one of Australia’s major public awareness weeks to encourage more Australians to sign up and support organ and tissue donation.

Nicole Pate started her career at Austin Health as a graduate nurse in 2012 and is one of our Donation Specialist Nursing Coordinators (DSNC).

Find out more about her role and her impact on increasing donation rates.

Can you tell us a bit about your role as a DSNC? What is the most rewarding part of your role?

As a DSNC, I help facilitate all aspects of organ and tissue donation across Victoria, from the referral all the way through to the donation operation. Each work day can be very different, from working at the Austin Hospital to working in one of the many other Intensive Care Units (ICU) throughout the state. Some days, I work with families to discuss organ donation, and other days, I provide education sessions with staff.

The most rewarding part of the role is knowing you have been an integral part of honoring and upholding a person's end-of-life care wishes. Also, knowing that a transplant can often mean the restoration of life, sight, or function to someone who has been seriously ill or injured.

Tell us about the journey that’s involved with organ donation?

The journey to donation begins when a doctor or nurse in the Emergency Department (ED) or ICU makes a referral to DonateLife via a 24/7 pager. To be considered for donation, a person is usually on a ventilator in an ICU or ED, as each organ needs to be functioning well.

A DSNC will check the Australian Organ Donor Register to see if the person has registered to be an organ and tissue donor and will then assess suitability for organ donation and arrange a time to discuss this with the person's family. Our job is to provide information and answer any questions they may have about organ donation. Once there has been consent, further tests are undertaken to ensure the person is safe to donate and to identify the best possible match for transplant.

Why is organ and tissue donation so important?

One organ donor can save the lives of up to seven people and change the lives of many more through eye and tissue donation. Organ donation is very rare – only around two per cent of people who die in Australian hospitals meet the criteria required to be an organ donor.

With around 1,800 people currently on the waitlist for an organ transplant, and 14,000 more on dialysis for kidney failure who could benefit from a kidney transplant, organ and tissue donation can be a matter of life and death. As an organ and tissue donor, you could be the reason someone gets a second chance at life.

What are some common misunderstandings about organ donation?

We often hear people say their loved one was not healthy enough to donate because of existing health conditions or lifestyle choices. However, there’s every chance that some organs and tissues may be suitable for donation. The DonateLife team, along with the treating team, undertake thorough assessments to determine if donation is possible. You don’t have to be in perfect health to be a donor.

It only takes one minute to register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or with three taps in your Express Plus Medicare App.