Organ recipient's stimulus for lifeBY JENNA HAND
22/02/2009 10:06:00 AM
DAVID PARKER won't say how many hours a week he worked while helping to formulate the Government's stimulus package.
''That's a state secret,'' the Treasury deputy-secretary says with a laugh.
But one thing is certain: without the kidney transplant he had last year, he wouldn't have been able to do it.
Speaking before organ donor awareness week, Mr Parker urged Australians to sign up to the national organ donor register.
Last year, 259 people became organ or tissue donors, more than in any previous year. However, the number of donors per million people fell to 12.
In Spain, which has a national network of transplant doctors, there were 35 donors per million people.
Mr Parker, 48, was born with kidney disease and waited three years for a transplant.
''Dialysis keeps you alive but it's a pretty dreadful experience and you tend to get sicker and sicker on it,'' he said.
It is difficult for people on dialysis to hold down full-time work as they may have to spend half a day on a machine three times a week.
''It's very common for people caught in that situation to become economically and socially marginalised,'' Mr Parker said.
His lucky number came up early last year. The transplant changed his life.
''Miracle is a hackneyed word, but there's no other word for it. It is a miracle,'' the father of three said.
''To feel the effect of decades of chronic disease wash out of your body over a matter of days is a profound experience.
''You are no longer dying slowly.''
President of Gift of Life, Anne Cahill Lambert, said three Australians died each day waiting for a transplant.
''Signing on to the Australian organ donor register is not enough. Talking to your family will seal the message,'' she said.
To sign on to the Australian Organ Donor Register phone Medicare on 1800 777 203 or visit
www.medicareaustralia.gov.au http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/organ-recipients-stimulus-for-life/1440479.aspx
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