Donations of children''s organs, The Australian, 15 May, 2008.

15 MAY 2008:
Valentina Bullinger
John Stapleton
NSW has moved to allow the organs of children in state care to be donated after their death.
If a child or a parent has not objected to donating their organs then a state bureaucrat will be empowered to make the decision.

The move came about as a result of a long campaign by the foster-mother of 14-year-old Mandy Butler, who died last year in a car accident while she was in foster care.

Her foster-mother, Dianne Johanson, wanted to donate Mandy's organs but found she was not legally able to do so. ``We wanted to donate Mandy's organs because she was a perfectly young, healthy girl who could have helped so many people out there,'' Ms Johanson said. ``We missed out on knowing that she would have lived on in someone else.''

However the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation, the country's leading private charity promoting organ donation, raised concerns over the moves.

Yesterday founder Allan Turner said the issue should be dealt with at a federal level and children should be consulted on the issue. Although legislation around Australia requires parental consent for organ donation under the age of 18 the best way for children to register their consent was through the National Donor Register.

Mr Turner said the Federal government removed children from the Register in 2005 and this decision should be reversed.
NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Green said recipients are crying out for organs every day.
``The amendments mean that if a child in the care of the state dies and never had expressed an objection to donation, their principal care officer will be required to consult with all relevant parties and provide consent if there are no reservations,'' he said.

Mr Greene said a Taskforce consulted a wide range of stakeholders from ethical, religious, legal and medical fraternities to make sure any legislative changes were subject to strict safeguards and met community standards.

The principal care officer who is required to consult relevant parties, is the chief executive officer of the designated state agency.

The Children's Guardian will develop guidelines to assist principal care officers in determining who is an interested party.

``Children who wish to be donated after their death should get the opportunity for that,'' Mr Green said.
Zaidee Rainbow Foundation founder Allan Turner said attempting to overcome grief through organ donation after a child's death or handing that power over to a state bureaucrat was inappropriate.

``To make an ethical decision you need to make sure that you have had that conversation with the child first, to understand their wishes,'' he said. ``We should honour the wishes of the child. In most cases, families who have had the conversation with their child or children readily donate organs and tissue.''

A spokeswoman for the Federal Health Department said the issue was one for each state and territory to determine their Human Issues Act.