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September 9, 2007
Media Statement
Australia should be ashamed of the discrimination that still exists in society against people who have undergone transplants, according to Transplant Australia.
The issue was brought to a head today over revelations that Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has undergone an aortic value replacement to correct a heart problem.
Transplant Australia represents transplant recipients, living donors, donor families and people working in the organ and tissue donation and transplantation sector.
Transplant Australia CEO, Chris Thomas, said today recipients faced discrimination that should have been outlawed years ago.
Transplantation has saved the lives of more than 30,000 Australians. It is now 50 years since the first kidney transplant was carried out in Australia, yet discrimination still exists today.
Recipients face many difficulties in the workplace. So much so that they are sometimes reluctant to disclose they have had a transplant. And try getting travel insurance to travel overseas if you had had a liver or heart transplant. It is almost impossible, Mr Thomas said.
Yet the reality is that recipients go on to live fulfilling and productive lives. Amongst our membership we have leading businessmen, police officers, airline pilots and people in high pressured jobs. There is nothing to suggest that they cannot perform their duties. In fact often they are more in touch with their health because they understand the need for regular checkups.
He added that living donors people who had generously donated a kidney to a loved one or relative also faced bias in the workplace.
This complex operation results in the donor being off work for up to eight weeks. Yet we have employers who argue that the donor is not entitled to sick leave because technically they are not sick. That might be true but we would think the decision to save someones life through the generous donation of an organ would count for something. Often thats not the case.
Transplant Australia has long represented the needs of transplant recipients and will continue to work with all Governments at State and Federal level to ensure their interests are met.
Further information please contact Chris Thomas on (02) 9922-5400 or (0425) 353-893.
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Click here to donate to the Transplant Australia Trust - Ashley Cooper Foundation.
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