The third Sunday of every November is DonateLife Thank You Day. A day where we take a moment to pause, remember and thank those Australians who gave the ultimate gift to others through organ and tissue donation.
Now in its seventh year, DonateLife Thank You Day is an important event in our calendar, giving people who have received a transplant the chance to show their heartfelt gratitude to donors and their families.
Today we’re taking a moment to thank donors and donor families for gifting extra years of life to our recipients. We call them, gifted years.
Transplantation isn’t a cure for recipients, but it’s often a life-saving gift of more time. It is a chance to live out some of their goals and dreams, get married, have families, travel the world, make a difference in other people's lives and maybe even see their grandchildren grow into adults.
Kate has been gifted 24 years of extra life so far, thanks to a liver transplant when she was just 17 years old. Having lost her brother post-transplant and with her father also gifted extra years thanks to a liver transplant, Kate knows all too well how much those extra years mean. She hasn’t wasted a second of her gifted years, competing with her husband in world championship obstacle courses and now training for the World Transplant Games being held in Perth next year.
Karen, a heart recipient of 28 years is also extremely grateful for her gifted years. A generous donor and their family gifted Karen time to watch her babies grow into young adults. Karen was diagnosed with serious heart failure when her babies where just 2 1/2years and 3 weeks old! Watching her babies grow has been the best gift she could imagine.
These are just two of the stories we are sharing for DonateLife Thank You Day. You can hear read these stories and more by following us on social media. Help us acknowledge this special day today by downloading our resources; poster, email signature block or social media tile and sharing your message of ‘thanks’ on your own social channels with the hashtag #ThankYouDay2022.
