General News
21 July, 2022
FNQ transplant recipients inspire live-saving yarns
CAIRNS and Tablelands transplant recipients are the face of a new campaign to inspire First Nations communities to think, talk and decide about organ and tissue donation.
Three grateful liver and kidney recipients and a local who has waited over three years for a lifechanging kidney transplant are championing the need to demystify organ donation in culturally safe ways.
They’ve shared their moving personal stories in a series of educational resources that are designed to prompt that “life-saving yarn with your mob”.
One of the new videos features Cairns liver recipient, Maddi Sivyer, 24, who recently charmed rubgy legend Sam Thaiday into throwing his support behind the organ donation campaign to save lives.
Sam interviewed Maddi for a series of podcasts called A Gift Worth Giving. In it, Maddi describes her unlikely survival since being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at birth, and later receiving the shocking prognosis that she had less than six months to live without a transplant. She was just eleven years old at the time.
“Nine months later, I was thankfully still alive,” Maddi said. “But it was tough and we really weren’t sure which way it would go. I had to plan my own funeral and start saying goodbye – I was even giving my toys away. “Thankfully, I received my transplant just in time.”
Sam Thaiday recently spoke publicly about the emotional journey interviewing many transplant recipients like Maddi, as well as some donor families. “Hearing those stories…these people (who donate organs to those in need) are just superheroes,” he said.
Thanks to her liver donor, Maddi has been able to grow up, graduate school and also complete a Bachelor of Psychology. Her aim is to give back to her community as a psychologist, supporting vulnerable and marginalised communities.
“I thank my donors for every day, and every day I’ve been able to live an extra life. It’s given me a second chance of life literally. It’s such a wonderful gift and now I can use my time to give back.”
“The way I see it is we are all going to die eventually and donating your organs is a way we can still help people when you’re gone. Your spirit is still there, and you get to live on with the people you have saved,” Cairns Health District Donation Specialist Nurse, Loren Ginders, said.
“It’s really important that we can openly talk about how organ and tissue donation occurs to make more transplants possible.”
The video resources also feature:
• Cairns woman Sabrina Davies, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition as a child, and received her new kidney at 23 years of age,
• Atherton man Anthony Rosendale, whose kidney transplant has survived 41 years (so far), making him the longest surviving First Nations transplant in Queensland, and,
• Cairns resident Ray Sambo, who is still waiting for a kidney transplant after three years.
It takes one minute to register as an organ & tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or via your Medicare app.
DonateLife Week is Sunday 24 July to Sunday 31 July 2022.
