Let’s Talk Organ & Tissue Donation

“Donating, or planning to do so, is a really positive act and it should get celebrated. After you take in all the information, and you’ve really thought about it, if donation really aligns with your values, then take a minute to register. That’s all it takes.” These are the words of Dr Sam Radford, Deputy State Medical Director for DonateLife Victoria, in talking about the simplicity of registering to become an organ and tissue donor, and the fact that one day, that decision may save the lives of others. Death and dying can be a sensitive topic and often an uncomfortable subject to talk about, however, in this final and fascinating episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, Dr Radford presents an array of interesting facts about organ donation, and busts some myths, too. Dr Radford answers questions about his role as an intensivist in a major Melbourne hospital, and talks about the different pathways to becoming an organ donor. He discusses which of our organs and tissue types can typically be donated, and talks about some of the different illnesses that may lead to the need for organ transplantation. Notably, Dr Radford also talks about the important relationship that is formed between a donor family, clinical staff and donation staff, to ensure that families are fully informed, to consider donation. “What we’re striving for is to make sure that the donation teams get face-to-face with donor families, or the donors individually themselves, before death and dying, and before the pathways to death and dying are set in stone. Then an informed conversation can take place alongside the clinical staff. The donation staff and the clinical staff work together to make sure that families get a chance to consider donation in a way that’s right for them.” While registering only takes a minute online, Dr Radford also explains why it’s so important to talk to your family about your registration decision. “Whether they agree with you or not, they’re definitely going to understand your decision better. In doing so, you have absolutely helped them - the people you love - for the eventuality that if you do die, where the possibility of donation exists, you’ve taken a burden off their shoulders. You’ll have made it really clear what your thoughts and values are.” More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“One eye donation can literally give two people back their sight. I think we all know what the impact in our lives of having good sight is. The impact of this type of donation is actually massive.” These are the words of Dr Graeme Pollock OAM – Director of the Lions Eye Donation Service, Centre for Eye Research Australia – one of Australia’s largest providers of donated eye tissue for transplant and medical research. Dr Pollock helped establish the service 30 years ago, this year.   Based at Melbourne’s Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, the Lions Eye Donation Service is an eye bank that establishes consent for donation, coordinates and performs donation surgery, and evaluates and distributes donated corneas and other eye tissue. In this fascinating episode, Dr Pollock talks eye donation, corneal transplants, and shares some wonderful anecdotes, including one about a patient whose corneas were estimated to be at least 120 years old, having had her transplant in 1953 from a donor who was then aged in his 70s.      For someone with a damaged cornea, a corneal transplant is often their last hope of restoring vision. Like organ donation, this sight-saving operation is only possible thanks to the decision of a donor and their family.   Dr Pollock says, while the service primarily allocates donated eye tissue for transplant to patients in Victoria and Tasmania, they also send eye tissue around Australia and even to New Zealand, when needed. While the eye bank has no shortage of donations, Dr Pollock acknowledges that for some people, the idea of eye donation can be a challenge. Asked why this might be, Dr Pollock says, “I think people are reluctant sometimes, and it’s probably because when we relate to someone, we often relate to them through their eyes. We know what they look like and we have an emotional engagement with them and with that person.” Dr Pollock says the impact of donation on recipient’s lives is remarkable, as is the success rate of transplantation. In 2020, there were approximately 2,500 corneal transplants Australia-wide; 530 of those took place in Melbourne. There were almost 1,500 corneal donors in Australia last year. More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“At the moment there are around 1,800 Australians on the transplant waiting list, so for these patients – who are in many instances desperately unwell – they really need a chance at life. For some of them, it’s a matter of life and death.” These are the words of Dr Rohit D’Costa, the State Medical Director for DonateLife Victoria, who, in this special DonateLife Week episode, explains why DonateLife is encouraging up to 100,000 more Australians to register as organ and tissue donors. DonateLife Week is an annual public awareness initiative that encourages Australians to register as organ and tissue donors. This year, it runs through July and August, with a big push from Sunday 25 July to Sunday 1 August. Dr D’Costa says DonateLife is asking all Australians to join the Great Registration Race, by inviting people to either register on the Australian Organ Donor Register, or their check their registration, as many people think they are registered, but aren’t.   He talks about the effects that COVID-19 had on donation and transplantation in 2020; the benefits that organ and tissue donation can have on people’s lives, and busts a few myths, too. Dr D’Costa wants everyone to get involved. Help spread the word by accessing the many resources at https://www.donatelife.gov.au/resources/donatelife-week “We really need people to make that registration decision and have the conversation with their loved ones,” he says. More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Last year I died in my sleep. My wife and daughter had to do CPR on me; I was dead for about half an hour. The ambos took me away and I woke up a few days later in The Alfred.”  These are the words of Andrew Conway, who clinically died in his sleep after suffering a massive cardiac arrest in early 2020. Against all odds, Andrew was brought back to life by paramedics and transported to The Alfred Hospital. At present, around 1,800 Australians are wait listed for an organ transplant; and more than 12,000 Australians are currently on dialysis – many of whom would benefit from a kidney transplant. In this special episode, Michael Billings speaks to two men on the organ waiting list: Andrew Conway, who is wait listed for a donor heart, and Paul Greenwood, who is wait listed for a donor kidney. Diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at the age of 30, Andrew has suffered multiple heart attacks, undergone surgeries for pacemakers, and is now fitted with a device that keeps his heart pumping while he waits for the call that he hopes will change his life.  For Paul Greenwood, life changed 13 years ago after a biopsy found he had scarring on his kidneys. A once fit and healthy man, Paul would cycle 30 kilometres a day. Now on dialysis, Paul rarely has enough energy to walk his dog. Paul says, “While dialysis is good, you never feel 100%. It feels like you’re running in third gear all the time. You’re in a haze and some days you’re just getting through.” “I hope that if you put your name down to become a donor, it never happens for you. But maybe if it did, you could help so many people,” he says. “Instead of living in a bit of misery you can have a full, happy life.” More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I was 6-foot-1 and weighed 48 kilograms. I received 100% of my nutrients through Total Parenteral Nutrition via an IV. Food was a foreign concept to me. It was just a fond memory.” These are the words of Brendan Cole, who made history in 2010 by being Australia’s first intestinal transplant recipient.  Suffering intestinal failure since infancy, Brendan also received a donor liver, pancreas and duodenum, in a complex and historic multi-organ transplant conducted by Austin Health surgeons, led by Professor Bob Jones. Brendan was being kept alive only by a process of artificial feeding directly into the bloodstream called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). Without this ground-breaking transplant surgery, Brendan’s prognosis was poor. Eleven years on, Brendan is married with a young family, and has a wonderful future. “Thank you is one of those phrases that doesn’t seem enough. This (donor) family has done something that has given me a chance to have a future. Not only a future for myself, but to have an impact other people’s lives, raise a son, and be normal,” says Brendan. “In their darkest time, when they had just lost someone, they made the brave, heroic decision to donate their loved one’s organs. To have the foresight to think of someone else - you can’t thank them enough. They are heroes.”  More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Everyone here that I work with really feels a passion for what they do. I think what we do, and the outcomes we’re involved in, really touch us.” These are the words of Fiona Hudson, a medical scientist with Victorian Transplantation and Immunogenetics Services (VTIS) at Australia Red Cross Lifeblood. In this episode, Fiona talks about the incredibly complex work the VTIS team undertake through scientific testing - often known as “tissue typing” - to determine compatibility between a wait list patient and a potential organ donor. Based at a laboratory at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood in West Melbourne, the VTIS team tests every day of the year, so when an opportunity arises for a wait list patient to be matched with the right organ donor, the most up-to-date information is available to help the doctors and coordinators select the right recipient, at the right time. The testing process can take between 8 to 10 hours to complete. Says Fiona, “For those people that have to wait months or years, we do a lot of testing, and a lot of names become very familiar to us. We don’t know any of the people on the waiting list personally, but it’s surprising how attached we all get to people that have been waiting for years for the right donor to come along.” More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.  Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 8 – Tara Duke “With a new liver she would gain quality of life. It would take her away from the risk of having a metabolic crisis and something catastrophic happening down the track. We wanted to give her the best possible chance of thriving and living her fullest life. From our side, all of it pointed in the direction of an organ transplant.”   These are the words of Tara Duke, mum of baby Maia, who underwent a liver transplant at the age of just 20 months. In the eighth episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to Tara about little Maia, who was diagnosed with a very rare metabolic disorder called propionic acidemia – a hereditary disease caused by a missing enzyme needed to convert protein into energy, also required for growth and development. Maia’s adoring parents Tara and Richard embarked on a complex medical journey to get Maia well. It was the gift from an unknown donor and their family that helped give Maia a new and robust life. “Knowing that Maia was 20 months when she had her transplant, and knowing she had a paediatric donor – somebody in that situation, at the most traumatic time in their life, has made a decision that helped save our daughter’s life,” says Tara. “You can’t clearly put into words, how to say thank you.”  More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au. It only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I have huge enthusiasm for living every day to the max and squeezing the quintessence out of life. To go from being so ill, to being not ill, is quite an extraordinary thing.”  These are the words of Cody Sheehan, who received a life-saving double lung and liver transplant four years ago, at the age of 28.  In the seventh episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to Cody about his difficult journey through chronic illness, to receiving “the greatest gift” from an organ donor and their family. Their gift of organ donation has inspired Cody to live his life enthusiastically and to the fullest, and bring joy and hope to others in the CF community through his work with the CF Avengers. Says Cody, “As tragic as death can be - and at a time of tragedy - you can give the absolute greatest gift. It’s the greatest gift one human can give to another. Without it, I simply wouldn’t be alive.”    More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au. It only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“You have 20-million things going through your head. You’re thinking the absolute worst. You’re thinking: I’ve just lost the love of my life. I’ve just lost my wife.” These are the words of John Lowe, reflecting on the moment his beloved wife Louise went into surgery after a brain aneurism, with little chance of survival. In the sixth episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to John about his story, and how important it was that the couple had a discussion early in their relationship about organ donation. They both had an intimate knowledge of what each other wanted, if something were ever to happen. When Louise died, John knew she would want to be an organ donor, saying “I needed to allow Louise to have the best opportunity to help others because that’s who she was, and that’s exactly what she would have wanted.” Incredibly, Louise went on to save the lives of six people, and help 23 others.   More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au. It only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“You’re helping people through the worst time in their life. It’s quite a rewarding position to be in and quite a privileged position ... It’s a special, sacred place to be.” These are the heartfelt words of Michelle Skinner, DonateLife Victoria’s Donor Family Support Coordinator, who in this episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation speaks about her important role in supporting those families who have lost a loved one and who have gone on to become an organ donor With a background in grief counselling and many years working with the Victorian State Coroner’s Office before joining DonateLife Victoria, Michelle talks about her vast experience counselling families who have lost a loved one in a tragic and unexpected way; and the comfort counselling can bring those families for days, weeks or years to come.   While some may initially feel uncomfortable with the idea of counselling, Michelle says, “What they realise, I hope, is that it’s a safe place for them. It’s a place that allows them to talk about their feelings and their person, and say anything they want to, without judgement, and I can give them some strategies to help them get through the day.” More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I remember sitting in a room with my nephrologist and my mum and my dad and they were talking about dialysis. It just seemed like the scariest thing to me. The thought of going from being so free to live my life, travelling and scuba diving, to being on a machine three times a week in hospital. That dialysis talk was really terrifying. That was when my dad said: Whatever happens, I’m going to donate a kidney to you.” These are the words of Brooke Huuskes, who is forever grateful that she was able to receive a kidney transplant, donated by her father, before she ever had to undergo dialysis for kidney failure. Thanks to her father’s incredible gift 10 years ago, Brooke has since been able to fulfil two of her biggest dreams - climbing Africa’s Mt Kilimanjaro, and the greatest of all, bringing a baby into the world.   More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“It was one of the worst moments we could have experienced as parents. We’d gone to hospital thinking that we were going to get turned around and sent back home being over-anxious parents. To go from what we didn’t think was going to be an issue, to suddenly having our six-week old baby on life support, was numbing and shocking.” These are the words of Andrew Martin, who reflects on the frightening moment he and wife Kylie faced when their precious baby daughter Ellie was placed on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit at a Sydney hospital. In the third episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to Andrew about Ellie’s diagnosis with a rare heart condition, their relocation to Melbourne for Ellie’s treatment, and her journey to receiving a heart transplant.   More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“His organs went to other people that needed them. That’s one part of his legacy – that he’s gone on to help those organ recipients and their families. I’m so proud of Jack.”  These are the heartfelt words of Bonnie Power, whose 10-year-old son Jack died from a catastrophic brain injury after a road accident in 2018. In the second episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to Bonnie about the heart-breaking death of her beloved son Jack. “It’s the sort of thing you see on the six-o’clock news and you never think it’s going to happen to you,” she says. In this episode, Bonnie talks about the day that would change her life forever; having to digest that Jack may not survive; and coming to the realisation that Jack would have wanted to help others by donating his organs.   More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Hi, I’m James Sheppard and I’m here for a heart transplant.” These were the words of heart recipient James Sheppard when he arrived at The Alfred Hospital’s Emergency Department after receiving the call he’d been waiting for – a donor heart had become available. In the first episode of Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation, podcast host Michael Billings speaks to James about his heart condition, restrictive cardiomyopathy – “it was like having a drummer inside my chest who didn’t know how to hold a beat” – his many heart treatments and surgeries, being placed on the waitlist for a heart transplant, and how quickly his life turned around after receiving a heart transplant. Learn how James went from being mostly wheelchair bound prior to his transplant, to competing in the World Transplant Games within a year – something James credits his donor and donor family for. More Australians are alive today because of organ and tissue donation. To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au – it only takes a minute.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Follow the touching and captivating stories from organ and tissue recipients, donor families, living donors, and expert medical and nursing specialists in DonateLife Victoria’s new podcast, Let’s Talk Organ and Tissue Donation. In stirring interviews, podcast host Michael Billings unearths the personal stories behind rare organ donation and transplantation cases, receiving ‘the call’, the donation journey, and the life-changing moments for everyone involved.  Join us every fortnight for a new episode. There are more people alive in Australia today because of organ donation. Register to become and organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au. It takes less than a minute – all you need is your Medicare card.Subscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/station/hit-bendigoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.