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Lives saved by record NSW organ donors

More people are donating their organs in NSW than ever before thanks to a campaign aimed at saving and improving lives, the health minister says.

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Source: AAP


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Organ donation rates in NSW have hit an all-time high on the back of a campaign to fix the state's long wait list.

Last year 127 people who died donated their organs, surpassing the previous record of 102 in 2013, Health Minister Jillian Skinner says.

"That makes a huge impact on the lives of people," she told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Ms Skinner put the boost down to the introduction in hospitals of "designated requesters" trained in approaching potential donors' families, and to a national donor register.

She said that at any one time more than 1600 Australians are on the wait list for an organ, but just one per cent of people who die are eligible to become donors.

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Last year, about 40 per cent of families of potential donors said "no" to a request for organs, but research shows the consent rate soars in families who had previously discussed organ donation with their loved ones.

Ruth Corbett, 29, suffered acute liver failure related an auto-immune condition just months after giving birth to her second child last year.

She is lucky to be alive after receiving a liver transplant in October, and urged people to tell their families if they wanted to become organ donors.

"I was lucky enough (with) my donor, a discussion was held," she said.

"It's because of them I am here, and I get to be healthy for a long time."


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