Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans to establish a National Transplant Authority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40876/09]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans to establish a National Organ Transplant Office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40877/09]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans to establish National Organ Donor registry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40878/09]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied that the optimum number of double lung transplants are being carried out at the National heart lung transplant facility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40879/09]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 185: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will set up an organ donor registry as proposed by Cystic Fibrosis Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40881/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 to 183, inclusive, and 185 together.

I want to emphasise the importance of both the individual's decision to be an organ donor in the event of their death and of the family discussion about this decision. Transplantation programmes are fundamentally dependent the decisions by individuals to be an organ donor.

It is my intention to have an organ donation and transplantation unit established within the existing resources and the national structures of the Health Service Executive. Its objective will be to provide a national focal point for reporting, monitoring and assessing the performance of organ donation and transplantation activities. I believe that it is appropriate that these functions are carried out at a national level, on the basis of regular, comprehensive performance data provided by all the transplant centres. I will be raising this issue in the context of discussions between my Department and the HSE about the HSE's services in 2010. Establishing such a unit would provide a sound basis for reviewing and evaluating performance and other issues related to transplantation.

The most recent report on International Figures on Organ Donation and Transplantation in 2007 demonstrates that Ireland's rate of organ donation is well above the European average. Ireland also benefits from a popular organ donor card, which has been supported by my Department. I am aware that organ donor registries have been proposed in some countries where there is a lower rate of organ donation. As outlined above, my priority is to have a national unit established within the HSE, which will be in a position to consider and assess options for enhancing organ transplant outcomes, on the basis of good reported national data and evidence, including the case for and against establishing a national donor registry.

I understand that two double lung transplants have been completed in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital this year. In total, seven lung transplants have taken place to date this year, which is the second highest performance since transplantations commenced in 2005. Nonetheless, successful lung transplantation is a very difficult surgical procedure. Since the first lung transplant in the Mater Hospital in 2005, an average of five people have benefited annually from this life-saving procedure. In relation to whether an optimum number of double lung transplants is being carried out, I believe that an organ donation and transplantation unit established within the HSE's national structures would be best placed to conduct an assessment of any of the transplant programmes in Ireland.