DonateLife Week 2013

First up let me say that this is not a sponsored post, it's a post about something dear to my heart.

 

A few months back I wrote a post that touched on organ donation.  Now although this is something that am in total support of, my only experience of it is what you see or read about in the media.  That has changed a little.  Let me tell you a little story about a friend of a friend.

 

My friend Carly has a friend (we'll call her CurlyPops) who has been waiting for a new set of lungs for a very long time.  Well an amazing thing happened to CurlyPops recently.  After many false starts, she received an early morning call telling her to get to the hospital because a new set of lungs were waiting for her.  CurlyPops has now had a double lung transplant and is on the long road back to good health.  Words can't express how thankful she is that a beautiful family somewhere had had the discussion, and at a time of immense personal grief gave the ultimate gift to a total stranger.  I've been very fortunate to be kept up to date on CurlyPops' progress by our mutual friend Carly.  I don't know CurlyPops but have felt the highs and lows of her journey so far.  Here's a few recent words from CurlyPops about the amazing gift of life she received.

 

Where am I going with this you ask.  This week is DonateLife Week.  DonateLife Week is Australia's national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation. It is led by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of the national DonateLife campaign and supported by community events and activities across Australia.

 

Did you know that as an organ and tissue donor, you could transform the lives of 10 or more people. But to make your wish count, we all need to discover the facts about organ and tissue donation and to register our decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register.

 

And to make every wish count, every Australian family needs to know each other’s wishes. This is because in Australia the family of every potential donor is always asked to confirm the donation wishes of their loved one before organ and/or tissue donation can proceed.

 

During DonateLife Week, Sunday 24 February – Sunday 3 March 2013, take some time to share your wish with your family and close friends, and ask them about their wishes.

 

For more information, visit www.donatelife.gov.au

G. xx