Organ Donation in New Zealand.

New Zealanders in desperate need of organ transplants may be forced to consider illegal options as the country's donation rate remains low, research suggests.
University of Canterbury (UC) lecturer Eric Crampton said New Zealand had the third-lowest organ donation rate in the developed world after Greece and Mexico.
He said the country needed to increase its transplant rate to ''save lives and reduce costs'' on the health system.
About 600 Kiwis are on the waiting list for organ transplants, mostly for kidneys. In 2011 there were 57 live donors and 38 deceased donors.
Crampton said there were ''few reasons'' for the country's low organ donation rate but the system was not working well.
''Because the driver's licence scheme does not constitute informed consent, doctors feel the need to seek explicit family permission at what is the worst possible time for families to be making that kind of decision.''
He said New Zealand's system allowed the deceased person's wishes to be ''overturned by family and friends''.
Spain had the highest rate of organ donation because people were presumed to be organ donors unless they stated otherwise before their death.
New Zealand's organ donor rate was 8.7 per million in the latest figures, compared with Spain's 32 per million rate.
If, New Zealand introduces presumed consent system for organ donation, then the number of organ transplants might increase. Therefore, saving lives and saving the health care cost associated with treating patients waiting for organ transplant. Presumed consent means everyone is presumed to be an organ donor unless they have specifically stated that they do not wish to donate. (It is an example of an 'opt-out' system.)
www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7868430/Fears-over-low-organ-donation-rates