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Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [9.27 p.m.]: The Northern Rivers Kidney Association, which is based in Lismore in Northern New South Wales, is a registered charity and support group for renal patients and their families. Bev Stephenson, a representative of the association, came to see me about a letter she had forwarded to the Hon. Craig Knowles, the Minister for Health. I want to raise this matter in the Parliament because I think the association has a very good point to make and I certainly offer this wonderful group my support and encouragement.
There are three renal units in the Northern Rivers area, including one at Lismore for in-centre and acute care patients and those training for peritoneal dialysis. There is a satellite and home haemodialysis training unit at Ballina and another in-centre unit at Grafton, with patients from the Tweed area being dialysed at John Flynn hospital on the Gold Coast. Currently, 90 patients are receiving dialysis in the area, and a further 200 people with advanced renal disease are in the pre-dialysis program. There are 2,000 people in Australia awaiting transplants. Of those on the transplant waiting list, 954 are in New South Wales, 816 of whom require kidney transplants.
These people wait for many years for a transplant and many will die before receiving an organ. Some kidney patients in the Northern Rivers who are awaiting a transplant have become very unwell and incapacitated. One man who had been on dialysis for 14 years became so ill and handicapped that he decided to stop dialysis. He passed away within a few days of ceasing treatment. The group is aware that other long-term dialysis patients have taken the same option. If it were possible for patients to receive a donated organ in the early stages of their illness, they could lead a productive and fulfilling life.
The costs to the Government associated with dialysis treatment are bound to increase as the population ages and co-morbidities increase. Over the next 10 years, 10,000 Australians will possibly become diabetic, and diabetes is one of the main causes of kidney failure. The current costs are approximately $35,000 for in-centre dialysis per patient per annum, $17,000 for home haemodialysis, and $24,000 for peritoneal dialysis. A kidney transplant is the most cost-effective treatment for kidney disease. After the first year the cost of drug therapy for transplant recipients is approximately $8,000 per annum, which is a great saving to the health-care system. However, with 816 patients in New South Wales on the kidney transplant waiting list, and only 53 cadaver donations available to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory last year, the chances of a patient receiving a kidney transplant are not great. The transplant waiting list for organs in New South Wales is half the national total.
The Northern Rivers Kidney Association tries to promote not only kidney disease awareness but also organ donation awareness. Its members canvass doctors' rooms and shopping centres to gain permission to display posters and leave organ donation registration forms. Every year they attend the Home and Leisure Show at Alstonville, where they distribute information on both issues, and local renal nurses take blood pressure tests throughout the weekend. They have been doing this for five years and the nurses usually do more than 300 blood pressure tests. They find that many members of the public who have high blood pressure are not aware of it. High blood pressure is another major cause of kidney disease.
During the show weekend they speak to several hundred people and find that many people do not understand organ donation issues and base their decision not to become an organ donor on false premises. They do their best to correct these misconceptions, but they are only a small group and need help. The Northern Rivers Kidney Association is seeking the support of the New South Wales Government. It requests that the Government introduce an extensive program and campaign to raise the awareness of organ donation. If the campaign is successful and the number of organ donors increases, many people, including children, will be saved from prolonged illness and, in some cases, death.