South Australian local, Heather Makris, has called on more people to become organ donors this National DonateLife Week.
The 46-year old school principal had liver failure during a routine operation in 2016 and was on the organ waitlist until December 2019 when she received a phone call notifying her of a liver match.
“That call still makes me emotional, I remember every word,” Ms Makris told ABC News.
This personal journey has seen Ms Makris urge more people to consent to be a donor this year.
South Australia currently leads the nation with 73 percent of the state’s population signing up to being a donor.
But demand has never been higher with 1,750 seriously ill Australians still on the waitlist for an organ transplant nationally, and another 13,000 people on dialysis who may benefit from a kidney transplant.
Ms Makris knows these statistics and said: “It takes one minute to register and we could catapult Australia in the years to come.”
To register as an organ and tissue donor, go to donatelife.gov.au/join-register.
Source: ABC News.
