Oliver and Rosemarie Zammit, from NSW, know first hand how it feels to have the organs of a loved one donated to help save the lives of others.
Their son Doujon was 20-years-old when he was killed in Greece in 2008.
"Our son was on a European vacation," said Oliver Zammit.
"He'd just travelled through Europe and, on their way home, they stopped off in Mykonos for a couple of days, because they heard it was a party town. Unfortunately, he was attacked by four bouncers from a nightclub they'd just left. He suffered some head injuries and never recovered."
Six months before he died, Doujon Zammit had spoken with his parents about his desire to be an organ donor.
His mother says it was difficult to follow through on those wishes as she struggled to come to terms with her son's death.
"I did say no at first," said Rosemarie Zammit.
"Saying yes meant that I had to give up all hope of bringing Doujon back alive. I wasn't prepared to do that. After the doctors had given us the two final tests that Doujon was brain dead, Oliver gently reminded me of Doujon's wishes and our conversation at home, and I had to find the strength to say yes. I'm very glad that I did, because Doujon has helped four human beings have a better chance of life and a second chance of life."
The story of their son's life-changing donation is one of five stories that appear in a New South Wales health campaign launched this week.
They also include the experiences of recipients of organ donations.
One recipient, Lorenzo Camporeale is alive today because of someone else's liver.
On the campaign video, he says that fact makes him especially grateful for his survival.
"We got to the hospital, and I started crying between me and my wife," he said.
"My wife said, 'Why are you crying?' I said, 'I'm crying because somebody else had to die to save my life. What about the family which lost somebody to get me a liver?'"
"That was sad. And every morning, I'd wake up, and I'd thank God I'd seen another day."
There are currently about 1500 Australians waiting for a transplant, with every donor able to save the lives of 10 people.
While seven in every 10 Australians say they are willing to donate their organs when they die, the number registered to do so is just three in 10.
In partnership with SBS, the Organ and Tissue Donation Multicultural Campaign will reach out across different cultural groups.
"We use an inclusive approach that kind of relies on people knowing each other, relies on champions and relies on the media that people actually listen to," said Peter Todaro, from the New South Wales Multicultural Health Communication Service.
Last year, donations went ahead in 91 per cent of cases where the deceased was a registered donor, compared to 52 per cent when a potential donor had not registered.
"When a family's approached about organ and tissue donation, they have just been told that their loved one has died," said Dr Elena Cavazzoni from the New South Wales Organ and Tissue Donation Service.
"It is a devastating, catastrophic event, so, when a family is unaware of a loved one's decision, it seems like an incredibly overwhelming decision to actually have to make and, if they're unsure about their loved one's decisions, they tend to say no, because they don't want to say yes to something that seems so overwhelming. What we do know is that families that have said yes actually find something, something good, has come out of something so tragic. And it actually helps with their grief process."
People can register to be an organ and tissue donor at http://www.donatelife.gov.au/
