State Member Alister Henskens SC has encouraged Ku-ring-gai residents to participate in DonateLife Thank You Day (Sunday 20 November), a national day to acknowledge living and deceased organ and tissue donors and their families.

“I invite all Ku-ring-gai residents to join the DonateLife #ThankYouDay campaign by posting a message on social media to say ‘thank you’ to all organ and tissue donors and their families for saving and improving lives through the gift of donation,” said Mr Henskens.

“Another way we can honour all donors and their families is by joining the Australian Organ Donor Register online to save lives and help end the wait for those waiting for a transplant.”

Living and deceased donors and their families save and transform lives through the ultimate gift of organ and tissue donation.

“In 2015, 355 people from NSW received an organ transplant through the generosity of a record 127 deceased organ donors and their families. Hundreds more became tissue donors, which meant 669 people received corneal transplants to restore sight, and others received heart valve transplants to correct malformations or bone and tendon donations for spinal fusions and treatments after cancer, trauma and sports injuries,” said Mr Henskens.

These new figures are incredibly encouraging, but with around 1,400 Australians waiting for a life-saving transplant, and a further 12,000 people on dialysis, there is still much to be done to ensure our organ donation and transplantation rates continue to grow.

“The generous act of organ and tissue donation has a far reaching effect, changing the lives of both transplant recipients and their families,” said Mr Henskens.

Few people die in such a way that they can be organ donors – only about 1-2% of people who die in hospital will be eligible to donate their organs. However, many more people have the potential to become tissue donors.

“Just one organ and tissue donor can transform the lives of more than ten people.” 

For more information about DonateLife Thank You Day and how you can get involved, visit donatelife.gov.au/ thank-you-day.