‘I felt so much relief when (mum) finally received a kidney transplant. I was so grateful for that year she could live without dialysis. I think there's something about jobs in healthcare that draws people who have been exposed to it.’
- Trisha
As told by Trisha, DonateLife Western Australia
My passion for organ donation started when I was a child. My mum went through kidney failure and needed a transplant, so talking about the importance of organ donation was very normal in my household growing up.
I’ve been working with DonateLife as a Donation Specialist Coordinator in Perth for one and a half years now. I was drawn to the dynamic responsibility of this role, and love that I can have a meaningful impact on those at the end of their life and their families.
Today, I’m part of a team that oversees referrals for tissue and organ donation in Western Australia. In a single day, I might be speaking to grieving families, booking transport, speaking with coroners, and liaising with many different hospital teams, including ICU, transplant physicians, theatre and anesthesiologists.
Coordinating timelines and balancing needs across these moving parts is especially challenging in WA, where organ transport can rely on private jets with limited windows of opportunity.
Some days you’re supporting absolutely bereft families, and then you have to turn around and be quite clinical and organised to get things happening. You're wearing quite a lot of hats in this role.
It could be confronting for many people, but a lot of this was normal for me growing up. Now that I look back at it, it seems unusual. But that was just our family. The topic of illness, dialysis, waiting on a transplant, and death was part of normal family conversations in our house.
From the age of about 8, I practically lived at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital with my mum, who had a rare auto-immune condition called Granulomatosis and needed dialysis.
Seeing how unwell Mum was had such an impact on me when I was a kid, and I felt so much relief when she finally received a kidney transplant 6 years later.
Although Mum sadly passed away at 46 from cancer a year later, it was amazing to see the freedom she gained back in her life by not having to depend on dialysis anymore. I was so grateful for that year she could live without dialysis.
I think there's something about jobs in healthcare that draws people who have been exposed to it.
My experience with Mum is one that I continue to bring to my role today, and it’s a major reason why I encourage others to start open family discussions about organ donation.
Let your family know if you’ve registered to be a donor, and don’t put them under any more stress by leaving them to try and make the decision when you're not there to tell them.
Inspired by Trisha's story?
