The Health and Community Services Ministerial Council endorsed the final report of the working party on `The Trans Tasman Arrangements for the Exchange of Organs and Blood Products= and agreed that a formal inter-government agreement is not required and that the various arrangements currently in place for the donation of New Zealand organs/tissue to the Australian transplant system will continue. Any variations or differences are to be managed at the operational level or by those bodies charged with developing or reviewing organ donation/ distribution protocols.
In relation to livers, New Zealand will participate fully in the current Australian liver rotation arrangements. The operational and financial relationship between the Australian and New Zealand Bone Marrow Registries will be agreed between the two agencies. Those bodies in Australia charged with developing or reviewing any aspect of organ donation and transplantation which touch on Trans-Tasman organ/tissue exchange issues should consult with the appropriate New Zealand agency.
Where New Zealand and Australia agree to specific donation and/or transplantation arrangements in their mutual interest, those arrangements should be based on the following principles:
Date of protocol: August 2002