Three years on, and Rupesh Udani's pain from losing his son Deyaan is still raw. But there's one decision he's never regretted.
Organ donation is the best way to go, it helps people, Dayaan is no more, so it is best to save other people's lives.
The Udani family follows Jainism and at the time Rupesh believed donating his seven year old son's organs would be against his faith - even though it was Deyaan''s wish to donate his organs, after learning about organ donation at his school.
My wife told me at that point of time we have to acknowledge Dayaan's last wish, and we also consulted our religious leader, and he supported to us to hold the organ donation process.
From a low base, Australia's now on track to become one of the top 15 countries in the world for organ donation. In 2018, 1,544 Australians received transplants, a 10 per cent jump from the previous year. In almost a decade, the number of organ transplant recipients has soared – by 93 per cent.
Australia’s consent rate also increased in 2018, with 64 per cent of families agreeing to donate a loved one’s organs. Federal Minister Ken Wyatt, who's responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, today met transplant recipients with a new lease on life, at Sydney's St. Vincent's Hospital,
"Australia has an international record that deserves to be cherished and that is because of the combined efforts of the Australian society in becoming donors, the teams work within the hospitals but more importantly the way in which the families have approached the difficult decisions they have to make"))
Jonathon Pool is one of those recipients.
I've always had cold hands and cold feet growing up and as soon as I woke up I could feel blood going into my hands and my feet
There are still more than a thousand Australians on wait lists for a transplant, so while the latest data is being applauded, hospitals stress more organ donations are needed. Valerie Duncan has been waiting for a lung transplant for almost 12 months.
"It's difficult, your phone rings and you always think it's going to be St Vincent's... never is"
Donor families are sharing their stories to raise awareness in their own communities. Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can face unique obstacles when it comes to organ donation. Lisa Woodland from the New South Wales Multicultural Health Communication Service.
In conjunction with the organ and tissue donation service, the Multicultural Health Communication Service has been engaged for a long time with a campaign to increase awareness around organ and tissue donation and to really encourage the community to have conversations, for families to have conversations and for people to have conversations with their friends and neighbours
Rupesh hopes his story helps other families facing similar barriers, to start the conversation.
Please think of organ donation, it saves people lives, all the religious have supported the organ donation process, so be strong, have conversations with all the family members and your friends
It's never been easier to become a donor, with residents now able to register online using their Medicare details.
