November 2022 DonateLife Network Update

Dear DonateLife team, 

Well, we are rapidly approaching the end of the year. Someone reminded me it’s only 38 days till Christmas!! And I am starting to think Christmas trees! For me, it’s a 1 December hard deadline for Christmas decorations...but on the flip side, there is no hard deadline for removing them! I do try to have them down before school goes back... 

As we move towards the end of the year there has been a lot happening in the organ and tissue donation and transplantation sector across all areas. In particular, I’d like to acknowledge the last few months of increased donation activity, despite the continued impact of COVID during 2022. Thank you all for your ongoing dedication as many challenges and impacts continue, especially for those of you working on the front line in our hospitals.  

Now we are able to travel freely, it has been great to have committees meeting face-to-face again. Just today, we had the Education Coordinators at the OTA and it was wonderful to see and hear the energy from catching up in person.  Also it is great I am able to travel again. I am looking forward to flying to Perth for the first time in nearly 3 years. I am travelling with our National Medical Director, Helen Opdam, and our National Manager for Analytics and Technology, Mark McDonald (AKA Data Mark!). This is a great chance to meet with the DLWA team face-to-face and to engage with the three main hospital ICU Directors and other essential executive staff. I am also able to attend the Western Australia Service of Remembrance, which is happening on Sunday 27 November. 

Community Awareness Grants 

Our 2023 community awareness grants are open for applications! Last Friday, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Ged Kearney MP, announced the opening of the 2023 round.  

Our focus for 2023 is young Australians – a key audience group for our awareness raising activities. Did you know only 10% of young people aged 16 to 25 years are registered on the AODR, a figure significantly lower than the registration rate for eligible Australians of all ages (36%). Research indicates that most young adults want to be organ donors, but they typically overestimate how difficult it will be to join the register – a myth we want to focus on busting in 2023.  

This year, grants will be offered across two categories:  

• National events – national community awareness events that reach a mass youth audience to encourage registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register.   

• Innovative digital projects – strategic digital activities targeting young people to encourage registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register. 

The 2023 Grant Guidelines and application forms are now available on our website, and applications close at 10:00am AEDT, Monday 12 December 2022. If you know of organisations that might be interested in applying or have a background in or expertise in these areas, please share about it with them! 

Since 2009, we have provided more than $5.6 million in community grants to run projects that encourage more Australians and their families to talk about organ and tissue donation and register to be a donor.   

As a great example, we launched new education resources for high school students to encourage discussion around organ and tissue donation in October. These resources were developed in partnership with Cool Australia who received a 2021 Community Awareness Grant. We share a bit more about these resources below. 

Thank You Day is approaching! 

Our annual DonateLife Thank You Day is coming up this weekend, on Sunday 20 November. It’s a day we jump online to commemorate organ and tissue donors to say thank you for the generous gift of donation. 

Centred around social media activity, the theme for this year’s social media campaign is “The Gifted Years,” focusing on the extra years and quality of life gifted to recipients from generous donors and their families. Many DonateLife agencies are holding Services of Remembrance throughout November, adding extra meaning to Thank You Day for donor families. Further information about the Services can be found here on our website or under each jurisdiction’s update below. 

A video collaboration from transplant recipients across the country will be released on Thank You Day, highlighting how many “Gifted Years” recipients have received thanks to their generous donor and their donor family for saying yes to donation. We’ll also be sharing stories on the DonateLife social channels from Thank You Day, until the end of November, supporting resources are available to download on the DonateLife website. 

World Transplant Games launch  

On Tuesday 22 November, I’ll be attending the launch of the 2023 World Transplant Games at Parliament House, along with the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney MP. Hosted by the Federal Government’s Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation, the launch will unveil the Gift of Life Baton (commissioned by Transplant Australia), which will be Australia’s gift to the World Transplant Games Federation and used in future games.  

The Baton will tour through Australia, including hospitals, community and sports events on its way from Canberra to Perth for the World Transplant Games. Transplant Australia will also be announcing their “Greatest Gift Legacy Project”, their five-year strategy to increase registrations and awareness of organ donation. I’m looking forward to the Games, kicking off in Perth in April, bringing with it a lot of excitement and camaraderie for our transplant recipients, as well as donor families who are also invited to take part in some of the events.  

Network Update feedback 

We really do hope that you find this network update interesting and useful, which is why asked you to tell us your thoughts about the format of this newsletter and what is included, and what else you might like to hear about. We carried out a network-wide survey during September, and I’d like to thank all who took the time to complete it. In the main, respondents said they were generally happy with content, format and delivery method, so this is great to know that we are on the right track. In response to the feedback, we will continue to issue these monthly/two monthly and deliver them in this way. We hope you start to notice some new elements, especially trying to better focus on information that helps you understand the work of OTA and other agencies, and DonateLife priority areas. We continue to seek and introduce ways to improve this newsletter, and you are welcome to provide feedback or ideas at any time.  

We should have one final newsletter coming through to you before the end of year holiday period. I hope you enjoy reading this edition with a snapshot of some of the goings-on across the network recently. Also, I’d just like to add a final note that planning for our 2023 Donation and Transplantation Conference (2-3 May in Melbourne) is progressing well, and there will be more information shared with you about it in the next fortnight. I am certainly looking forward to bringing people from across the network together in the new year!   

Warm wishes   

Lucinda    

The OTA and OTDS NSW have been working together with Service NSW to run a 4-week promotional campaign about organ and tissue donation on the Services NSW app targeting their 5+ million customers.  
 
A prompt to register now features as a button on the app’s homepage carousel. Service NSW will also promote this to their customers via their social media channels. 

While the run was to raise funds for the Cancer Council ACT, a group of ABS runners wanted to promote organ and tissue donation and remind people of the importance to register their wishes on the AODR – they handed out merchandise to other runners on the day. 

DonateLife SA

RAA Street Smart High

On 27 and 28 September, DonateLife SA attended the RAA Street Smart High event at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. RAA Street Smart High is an annual road safety event that demonstrates to students the realities of road trauma and has 7,500 students walk through its doors over two days. The one-day event also gives young and soon-to-be drivers the knowledge they need to stay safe on the roads. RAA Street Smart High is open to students in years 10 to 12 across South Australia, and attendance is free. 

Students witnessed a simulated crash scene, including pre-and-post-crash analysis, they heard from other young people whose lives have been affected by road trauma as well as learning road safety skills and knowledge. Dr Stewart Moodie, State Medical Director for DonateLife SA presented a segment on organ donation as part of the event program. Dr Stewart Moodie along with Heylen Laver, Nursing Service Director and Dale Birrell, Business Support, Communications and Events Officer manned a DonateLife stand during the lunch time break to speak with students about organ and tissue donation. Raising awareness is important as many of the students are at the age where they are getting their drivers licences and can opt to be an organ donor as part of this process in South Australia. 

Image: Dr Stewart Moodie, State Medical Director, and Dale Birrell, Business Support, Communications & Events Officer, DonateLife SA, speaking to students about organ donation at the RAA Street Smart High event

Sime Memorial and Fundraiser

On Saturday 24 September, DonateLife SA was invited to attend a fundraising soccer game and a silent auction event, with the proceeds (totalling $18,500) raised in support of the donor family, as well as to support awareness of stroke and organ donation. The event was organised by a friend of Shannon Sime and her husband Scott. Shannon, a 29-year-old hairdresser suffered a stroke and sadly lost her life three days later, just six weeks after the birth of their first child, baby Harlow. In an act of selflessness, Shannon donated her organs, saving the lives of five people. 

DonateLife SA was invited to attend and set up a stall at the game to promote organ donation. Mr Sime’s goal was to have every person at the event register to be an organ tissue donor. We were met with great enthusiasm from the second we arrived, and we spoke with many people wanting to know more about organ donation. Dr Stewart Moodie, State Medical Director spoke about organ donation and to thank the family for the important decision they made. There were many heartfelt ‘thankyou’s, tears and also joy, in remembering Shannon and her husband as being true heroes. It was an honour for DonateLife SA to be included in such a special event. 

Image: Shannon and Scott Sime with their Baby Harlow. 

Healthy Cities Onkaparinga Wellness & Care Expo

The DLSA team also continue to attend Wellness, Care & Compassion Expos for local Councils when given the chance; to provide opportunity for people to find out more about organ donation, end-of-life, grief and loss, and be empowered to make choices for themselves or loved ones. 

Image: Healthy Cities Onkaparinga Wellness & Care Expo in the Onkparinga Council area on Wednesday 19 October 2022.

DonateLife TAS

Peri-operative workshop in Tasmania

In September, DonateLife Tasmania ran its first peri-operative workshop since 2017!  After having to postpone the date from February 2022 due to COVID, we had an amazing attendance by 23 theatre nurses from our 3 major referral hospitals across Tassie. Highlights of the day included hearing from a local heart transplant recipient Mrs Natalie Bown, 2 transplantsurgeons; Mr Atsuo Doi (Alfred Cardiothoracic Transplant Surgeon) and Mr Graham Starkey (Austin Liver Transplant Surgeon). Participants also attended a practical skills session at the Royal Hobart Hospital, organised and facilitated by 2 of our dedicated Clinical Champions, Caroline Hyland and Cheryl Ryan. Nursing staff from the north of the state were also given a tour of the new theatre complex in Royal Hobart Hospital K Block. We also had a session on self-care and wellbeing as well as an update on Donor Family Support from our DFS Coordinator, Verity Shugg. We were thrilled to receive positive feedback and staff had some really good ideas which will help us to improve our peri-operative education across the state. We are looking forward to planning the next state-wide study day!

12 years of coordinating organ and tissue donation in Tasmania

DonateLife Tasmania is acknowledging the state-wide support for organ and tissue donation since the service was established over 12 years ago, with the installation of a trio of posters on display at each of the 4 major hospitals. The posters acknowledge the incredible support from hospital staff, health service leadership and donor families, that has contributed to the state achieving amazing donation outcomes that benefit so many transplant recipients. 

Images: (L-R) LGH ED and ICU Clinical Champions Maddie Dunn, Jane Lockstone, Jo Praciak and DonateLife Tasmania DSNC Sarah Cullen; Tasmania organ and tissue donation statistics.

We were excited to hold our first face-to-face Service of Remembrance since 2019. The service included the sharing of stories by donor families and those who have received a transplant, followed by an afternoon tea. More than 150 people turned up to honour Victorian organ and tissue donors, and thank their families. 
Following the service, we received this message from one of our speakers: 

“Just a brief note of congratulations to you for yesterday’s wonderful Remembrance Service. Despite my nervousness, I found the day uplifting, educational and emotional. 

“Speaking with other attendees after the service, I was touched by their stories and found they had benefitted from the service and experience. Unfortunately, there are many people still hurting after losing a loved one, and giving them this opportunity to grieve and listen to ‘like donors’, I believe the afternoon gave them strength, courage and pride. Again, thank you for a lovely afternoon.” 

DonateLife Victoria Co-Design Council 
In late 2021, we formed the DLV Co-Design Council (CDC) to address recommendations from a cultural review undertaken earlier that year. The CDC is a forum that enables DLV Network staff to consult with management on issues impacting them. They focus on: 

• promoting good workplace relations  

• issues of strategic significance  

• facilitating information sharing  

• consulting upon and openly discuss issues in a spirit of cooperation and trust, with the aim of resolving any differences in a mutually acceptable way. 

The group includes representatives from most teams within the DLV Network. In the first year of operations, the group has been instrumental in collaborating to finalise our strategic plan, operations plan, and engagement frameworks. They’ve also developed some new documents to improve the way we work together as a network, including best-practice guides to communications principles and escalation pathways. 

Continuing engagement with Lifeblood 
We are continuing to engage with Lifeblood to deliver outcomes for DLV and the broader DonateLife Network. We are pleased to announce that we have begun the trial of including DonateLife content in the digital screen loop of three Melbourne donor centres. This has started as a trial, but we are hopeful that this will be expanded nationally once the digital screens are rolled out across the country. 

We have collaborated with our Lifeblood colleagues to allow external stakeholders access to relevant data and other information through our SharePoint site, Salesforce Community Portal and with our Power BI dashboards. We are also delivering a national ‘Town Hall’ presentation to Lifeblood staff, featuring a donor family and a transplant recipient, to encourage Lifeblood staff to help spread the word about organ and tissue donation. 

One of our beautiful donor families set up a Samford Saves Lives initiative which ran at the end of October in honour of what would have been their daughter Stefanie’s 30th birthday. The community rallied together to raise awareness for organ and tissue donation with nine local coffee shops coming on board to use DonateLife posters and stickers to encourage customers to register on the AODR, as well as local media support. We love it when our volunteers put together special initiatives like this, and we thank the Dwyer family for their continued support and awareness raising activities. 

Tell us more about what you do 
I’ve been working as a Donation Specialist Coordinator for 8 years at DonateLife Queensland. My portfolios range from being a member of the NAUG, Member of the NORTGWG, on a state level it ranges from hospital education and implementation, looking after the high school education program and delivering face to face education for the students, organising the QLD Services of Remembrance, delivering education to nursing students, rotational audits nationally and state based.   

What are you working on at the moment? 
I’m in the middle of organising the Qld Service of Remembrance in Brisbane and helping the regions to organise theirs. During the last week I’ve also been out and about presenting the new education resources at Brisbane high schools. 

What do you love most about your role?  
Seeing a family being able to smile a little bit after losing their family member, because I’ve been able to tell them their family member has changed the lives of others. 

What led you to your career? 
My Great Uncle told me I needed to do something other than farming. His words were “Boy you need to work smarter not harder”. Though, I’m not sure I’ve taken the advice on perfectly, as my role in DonateLife is pretty hard work. Something else that probably led me to DonateLife is my cousin had a double-lung transplant for Cystic Fibrosis 27 yrs ago, so I always knew about organ donation, though I never really thought I would be working in this field. 

What was your first job? 
I worked on the family farm since I was a little tacker. One of my first actual paid jobs was working on a dairy farm, milking cows. 

Are you an early bird or a night owl? 
Extremely early bird – some people are probably going to bed when I’m already awake! 

Are you a dog person or a cat person (or neither)? 
A dog person and have two little black puppies called Tia and Lena. 

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? 
The power to stop suffering. 

What’s the top destination on your must-visit list? 
There’s a lot, but South America and Antarctica would be up there. 

What’s your go-to karaoke song? 
I’m not a singer but if I’ve had a few drinks… well just maybe ‘Tequila’ by The Champs will come out! Have a listen and you’ll know why I like this one.