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First of all, in order to receive a new heart, patients have to register on a waiting list. The waiting list for hearts may take up to 1.3 years on average, because out of all the people who die, less than 1% of them are potential donors. In other words, less than 1% of the people who die are brain dead. A person who is brain dead means he/she has an irreversible damage in the brain, causing the brain to lose its functions. There are two definitions of death in Australia. One of them refers to brain death, and the other is defined as, “Irreversible cessation of circulation of the blood (cardiac death-the heart stops
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Australia’s donation rate of 10.2 per million is very low when compared to some other countries. For example, there are 33.8 dpmp (donors per million people) in Spain, 22.1 dpmp in the US, 23.3 in Austria, 24.4 in Belgium and 21.2 in Ireland. Compared to these countries, Australia has a very low donation rate. This situation has led some people from the government to come up with the idea of forcing everyone to participate in donor organ programs. Personally, I would not agree with this, because I think people should be allowed to have choices as individuals. Everyone’s body parts belong to themselves, so whether or not people want to give them away are their own decision, not the government’s. Some religions may also go against the act of donating organs, although the majority of the world’s religions support organ donation, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Judaism and Sikhism.
Although the Australian Federal government does not force anyone to participate in organ donation programs, they still try their best to encourage people to donate their organs in order to decrease the organ waiting lists. The government has donated 26 million dollars, and has formed an Australian Donor Registry, where over 5 million Australians had registered as an organ donor at the end of 2005. The Australian government has also well informed the community about the desperate needs and importance for organ donations through websites, books, advertisements and
Australia’s donation rate of 10.2 per million is very low when compared to some other countries. For example, there are 33.8 dpmp (donors per million people) in Spain, 22.1 dpmp in the US, 23.3 in Austria, 24.4 in Belgium and 21.2 in Ireland. Compared to these countries, Australia has a very low donation rate. This situation has led some people from the government to come up with the idea of forcing everyone to participate in donor organ programs. Personally, I would not agree with this, because I think people should be allowed to have choices as individuals. Everyone’s body parts belong to themselves, so whether or not people want to give them away are their own decision, not the government’s. Some religions may also go against the act of donating organs, although the majority of the world’s religions support organ donation, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Judaism and Sikhism.
Although the Australian Federal government does not force anyone to participate in organ donation programs, they still try their best to encourage people to donate their organs in order to decrease the organ waiting lists. The government has donated 26 million dollars, and has formed an Australian Donor Registry, where over 5 million Australians had registered as an organ donor at the end of 2005. The Australian government has also well informed the community about the desperate needs and importance for organ donations through websites, books, advertisements and