Organ donation is often described as "the gift of life". It can be the difference between another person living or dying. At any given time, roughly 1,400 Australians are waiting for an organ transplant, many of whom will wait years and some who won't survive the wait.
For a growing number of South Australians, the decision to become an organ donor is something they want reflected in their estate plan. But good intentions aren't always enough. Without the right steps taken in advance, a person's wishes to donate (whether that's organs, tissue, or their entire body to medical research) can be lost simply because nobody knew about them in time, or because a family member said no.
Please don't rely on your will
Organ donation only becomes possible in a narrow set of circumstances, generally where death occurs in a hospital under specific clinical conditions, and there is a very limited window in which organs remain viable for transplant. A will is typically located, read and acted upon well after that window has closed. By the time an executor has located the document and confirmed its contents, the opportunity to donate has almost always passed.
That's why the first and most important step is to register your decision directly with the Australian Organ Donor Register, via myGov, the Medicare Express Plus app, or the DonateLife website. This ensures your wishes are immediately accessible to clinicians and your family at the time they're needed — not days later.
Make sure your executor knows your wishes
Under South Australian law, when a person dies, the right and responsibility to deal with their body passes to their executor. Yet an executor has no way of acting on wishes they don't know about. If organ or tissue donation matters to you, your executor needs to know well before it becomes relevant, not discover it weeks later buried in a will they haven't yet read.
Is it true my family can prevent organ donation
Organ and tissue donation in South Australia is governed by the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1983 (SA). Under section 5 of the Act, consent for donation can be given, in order of priority, by the deceased person themselves (if they made their wishes known before death) or by their senior available next of kin.
Even when a person has registered as a donor, that decision can, in practice, be overridden by their next of kin if the family objects. Donation agencies will generally not proceed against a family's express refusal, regardless of what the register says. Conversely, if a person has never registered or expressed a view at all, their family can still consent to donation on their behalf. It isn't a requirement that the deceased formally recorded their wishes.
This is precisely why registration on its own isn't enough. The people who will be standing in the room when the decision is made need to know your wishes and be prepared to honour them. A conversation, held while you're able to have it, is often what stands between your intentions being carried out and being quietly set aside because nobody has the capacity to make the decision.
Donating your body for medical research or teaching
Whole-body donation for anatomical examination and medical education is provided for under Part 5 of the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1983 (SA) and the accompanying Transplantation and Anatomy Regulations 2018.
Consent must be arranged separately, in advance, through the Body Donation Program, administered via Adelaide University's Medical School (which now incorporates the former University of South Australia programs), Flinders University, or the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. This is a distinct registration process separate to organ donation and requires its own paperwork completed ahead of time. We can assist you with facilitating this.
It's also worth knowing that a body donated for anatomical study will not be available for a funeral at the time of death and must be cremated. Institutions typically retain the body for a period of study before cremation, after which the ashes are returned to the family at no cost. This timing can matter a great deal to grieving families, so it's another reason this decision needs to be discussed openly and not left as a surprise in a will.
As with organ donation, a person's registered consent for body donation can still be overridden by their next of kin after death. Your family's understanding and support remain central.
Organ, tissue and body donation can be among the most meaningful decisions a person makes. If you want it considered as part of your legacy, we'd love to help you create or update an estate plan so your wishes are honoured.
The contents of this article is general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. It is not intended to be a substitute for either and should not be relied upon as such. You should seek independent professional advice in relation to your specific circumstances.