Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Left: Darren’s father and his wife met his organ donor’s parents. Right: Darren’s father was “all about family” and loved travel and photography.
By donating her seriously ill father one of her kidneys, Erin gave him another decade of good life.
Derek had kidney failure and Type 2 diabetes and was not doing well.
“The alternative was to start dialysis or receive a donor kidney,” Erin said.
Erin opted for an invaluable gift. “I decided this was the right thing to do and began the process of going through the tissue typing and testing to become a donor.”
Like Erin, four in five Australians are supportive of organ and tissue donation, however only one in three are registered donors.
The ACT is below that national average with 27 percent of Canberrans being registered. An additional 4,982 new registrations recorded for the ACT last year.
This is something the DonateLife agency is trying to change. Canberrans are being encouraged to Donate a Minute, Donate a Lifetime this DonateLife Week (23–30 July 2023) and register to be organ and tissue donors.
“I gave my father 10 years of good living before he became unwell and had sepsis, which attacked the kidney, he then had a stroke and died a week later,” Erin said.
“For me it was important that Dad had quality of life, seeing and speaking to many patients who were on long term dialysis made the decision easy.”
In 1982, Darren’s father was diagnosed with a kidney disease that left him with only five percent of his kidneys functioning. He was 40 years old.
“To this day I still clearly remember what he went through, doing a full day’s work and then head to the old Canberra hospital and receive dialysis for three to four hours every two days,” Darren said.
In 1986, Darren’s father received a call that there was a kidney ready for him. His family’s happiness was matched by awareness of the grief the donor’s family must have been experiencing.
“By knowing that the person that had died had wished that his organs were to be donated upon his death, allowed my father and several other organ recipients a second chance at life,” Darren said.
“The average life expectancy of a kidney recipient we were told was around 10–12 years. When Dad passed away in April of 2018, he had experienced an extra 32 years of life. At that time, he was the longest surviving recipient of a kidney in Australia.”
Both Erin and Darren urge Canberrans to consider becoming organ donors.
“I have found even though organ donation may be a difficult subject to talk about, it is easier to talk to your family in a controlled environment, rather than leaving the decision with them after the event when time is critical and clear thought process is required,” Darren said.
“Please speak to family, register together, understand the many lives that can be saved and improved by giving away these precious organs,” Erin said.
DonateLife ACT coordinates all organ and tissue donor activities across the territory.
To acknowledge DonateLife Week, several iconic Canberra monuments will be lit up in magenta tones.
The Carillon, Old Parliament House, John Gorton Building, Telstra Tower, light rail stops, the Canberra Times Fountain, Malcolm Fraser Bridge, National Museum of Australia, the ANU Shine Dome and the Royal Australian Mint will all be lit up at various points throughout the week.
Anyone in Australia aged 16 and over can register on the Australian Organ Donor Register. It’s easy and only takes one minute. To register, visit donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today
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