Organ donation sign-up needed on WA driver’s licence form, report investigating donor rates recommends

West Australians may soon get the chance to sign up as organ donors when they renew their driver’s license after a report exploring options to grow the State’s lagging donation rates recommended the State Government reinstate the move. A parliamentary committee report released on Tuesday found options were needed to drive WA’s level of organ donation higher, with just 38 per cent of West Australians signing up to donate. One option the committee recommended would be to reintroduce a box on the form for drivers license and age card renewals, abolished 20 years ago. The only Australian state which has maintained the ability to record donations on the licence forms, South Australia, boasts the highest national rate of donors, with 72 per cent. The report found the process encouraged donation from young adults, which was necessary according to former WA chief medical officer Dr Simon Towler because “sadly, a proportion of the people who are organ donors are younger people who have severe misadventure.” The move would also give family members confidence in a relative’s donor status, due to the regular renewal process for licenses. That was needed, the report found, as WA had the lowest rate of families consenting to donating deceased relative’s organs and tissues at 50 per cent. Committee chairman Pierre Yang said support for calls for an opt-out donation system needed to be ascertained, but a nationally consistent model was necessary. “The registration rate does not necessarily reflect the current level of support for organ donation within the community,” Mr Yang said. “Any legislative change must avoid eroding public trust and would require thorough communication with the public, including cultural and religious sensitive outreach.” The report also recommended the State Government investigate allowing the coroner to perform investigations solely for organ donation, and the need for guidelines over the registration of people who use voluntary assisted dying. The State Government has two months to respond to the report.