The 6th Donor Heroes Night goes "World" following the event last year being acknowledged and embraced be many overseas organisations.   The event celebrates, honours and commemorates all men, women and children around the World who have given the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.

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This years Event aims to continue to build on the gains made in 2024 by raising the profile of organ/tissue donation and transplantation across all communities and countries worldwide. 

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From Donor Families Australia perspective the following can also greatly assist in raising the current Family consent rate worldwide:

• Those wishing to be a donor following their passing need to have the conversation with their family,

• The family need to educate themselves as to what the organ & retrieval process involves for them.   Within Australia it is through (https://www.donatelife.gov.au/all-about-donation).   For countries outside Australia you ar recommended to seek advice through your own government bodies.

   

   Within Australia specifically:

• The management and support of donor families need to be consistent across all retrieval hospitals,

• Communication post retrieval between donor families and their recipients and their family members need to be managed seamlessly,

• There needs to be a strong repour between the Organ & Tissue Authority and Donor Families Australia (the peak Donor Family body) which does not currently exist.

• While the Australian Organ Door Register is recognised as a helpful management tool, it should not supersede the issues identified above,

The Human Tissue Act as it currently stands has a strong bias towards the medical community with little or no involvement of donor families nationally.

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It is said that "one is 10 times more likely to require a transplant of some nature in their lifetime than they would find themselves becoming a Donor Hero."

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On May 2020, the inaugural Donor Heroes Night was undertaken.  The event was inspired by thousands of Aussies commemorating ANZAC day when they came out of their homes in the early morning to remember our ANZAC Heroes, light a candle or played the last post in their memory.   So why couldn't the same be done to acknowledge and celebrate the approximate 25,000 Donor Heroes who have given themselves to save or benefit others during the past 37 years.   DFA recognises all organ and tissue donors as well as living donors drawing on data provided from DonateLife and ANZDATA.

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2020 resulted in 50,000 Australians through the various social media platforms being involved.

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2021 saw this number rise to 125,000 that were involved in the weeks leading up to and including the night of the 18th May. 

 

2022 resulted in involving a total of 260,127 Facebook "Reaches, Likes, Engagements, Comments and Shared postings" which exceeded our original goal of 250,000.   The event for the first time reached out to several overseas organisations and it is hoped that this international exposure will continue to grow.   On the evening of 18th May 30,623 actions on Facebook involving posting photos of their light/candle and Donor Hero loved one accompanied by comments supported by family, friends, and the community at large occurred.

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2023 was equally as successful as that of 2022, as DFA reached out to Australians Federal Politicians resulting approximately 20 from all sides of politics supporting the Event.  In 2024 it is hoped to expand such involvement as Donor Heroes' Night can expand into a truly International Community Event. 

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2024 saw ​DFA conducted its fifth Donor Hero Night in May. This night is our major focus to help raise awareness of the importance of Organ and Tissue donation whilst honouring the donor. DFA thank all those that honoured and acknowledged our Organ and Tissue Donor Heroes and showed their support in Organ/Tissue Donation and Transplantation. It was encouraging to see such a large number of Organ/Tissue donation and transplantation organisations and support groups, both nationally and international get involved. The importance of conducting Donor Heroes’ Night is highlighted by the fact that 21 organisations were engaged this year; 10 from Australia, 6 from Canada, 5 from United Kingdom and 2 from Europe. It is even more incredible when one realises that a total of 186,888 followers had the potential to participate. The power of social media services across the platforms involving; Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) and YouTube during the six weeks of marketing leading up to and including the evening Event, amounted to over 42,500 known hits recorded.

 

On the evening of Donor Heroes’ Night, in conjunction with Donor Families Australia, both Donor and Recipient Group Australia and DonateLife (Australia) combined, achieved 26,005 Reaches 3,780 Likes, 469 Comments, 323 Photos and 1,116 Shares amounting to a total of 31,693 hits. This outcome acknowledges just how important it is to enable those involved in Organ/Tissue donation the ability to honour our Donor Heroes, for where would all those that have received a transplant around the world be without them. I would encourage you all to follow the link https://www.facebook.com/DonorFamiliesAustralia and read some of the many comments posted

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For organ and tissue donation to continue to grow it is MOST IMPORTANT to have the conversation with your family members, educate yourself in what is involved in the process of becoming a Donor and remember to sign onto the Australian Organ/Tissue Donor Registry or equivilant within your own country.

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