Heather Makris urges more people to become organ donors in Australia

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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.

Heather Makris received a donor liver transplant in December 2019. Photo: ABC News.

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.

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