Donor Families Australia Inc.
EXPERT BY EXPERIENCE
Supporting Organ & Tissue Donor Families
Established in December 2012
7th Anniversary of
Donor Heroes' Night
18th May 2026
Celebrating Organ & Tissue DONOR HEROES
What is Donor Heroes' Night?
Donor Families Australia (DFA) decided to hold an event to, commemorate, and celebrate organ and tissue donors across Australia. To reach out to those impacted by organ and tissue donation and transplantation, utilizing Facebook as a communication platform was a logical choice. DFA created a public Facebook account at https://www.com/DonorFamiliesAustralia, which has been used to host Donor Heroes Night since its launch on May 18,2020.
Why Donor Heroes’ Night matters to so many
Donor Heroes’ Night is a profoundly important occasion because it gives Donor Families a meaningful opportunity to publicly honour their Donor Hero — someone who gave of themselves to help, heal, or save others in their greatest moment of need.
For transplant recipients, communication with their Donor Family is often limited or uncertain. Yet recipients live every day knowing that without the generosity of their Donor Hero, they might not be here, or might not enjoy the health and quality of life they have today. Donor Heroes’ Night creates a rare and powerful moment for recipients to express their deep gratitude — to their Hero, and to the family who made that life‑changing decision.
For the wider Australian community, the event is a unifying reminder of what truly matters: life, courage, compassion, and the extraordinary gift of organ and tissue donation. At any moment, a transplant can mean the difference between life and the loss of someone we love. Donor Heroes’ Night brings Australians together to recognise that gift and celebrate the heroes who make it possible. Bruce McDowell states why DHN is so important to him
Marketing Donor Heroes' Night
During the 17 days leading up to the Event, DFA will be posting items on their Facebook Page "https://www.facebook.com/DonorFamiliesAustralia" involving:
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3 Media Releases,
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Donor Family Stories,
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Donor Heroes' song,
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Organ/Tissue Donation concerns and Stats,
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The DHN Flyer etc
Those visiting the Donor Families Australia Page are invited to comment on these posting or share. You are also encouraged to share the information available so as to help us raise awareness of the Event and the imporyance of Organ/Tissue Donation throughout Australia
How to Post a Comment and Photo on the 18th May
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On the evening of the Event turn on your porch light and/or light a candle,
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Take a photo of your light Light/ Candle
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Via phone or PC log onto https://www.facebook.com/DonorFamiliesAustralia.
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The Donor Heroes'Night Event Post will be pinned to the Facebook Page and will be represented by the distinct picture as shown.
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Click o "Comment"
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Place your comment of rememberence/celebration/thanks or support,
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Attach your photo that has been stored on your PC or mobil phone,
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If you wish to attach a further photo, do so via repy to your comment
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While within the Event Posting take time to read the comments of others which
you inturn can repond to, like or share, -
The DHN Posting will remain open and accessible at the discression of DFA.
Media Releases
Media Contacts
Bruce McDowell 0427 645 262 Chairman/ Donor Family Rep. Como WA
Leanne Campbell 03 9438 3447 Dept.Chair/ Donor Family Rep Melbourne VIC
Philippa Delahoy 0437 149 641 Secretary/ Donor Family Rep Sydney NSW
Graham Harrison 0421 697 048 Event Coordinator Central Coast NSW
Barry Mewett 0408 024 110 Donor Family Rep Canberra ACT
Holly Northam 0412 289 295 Ethics Advisor Canberra ACT
Jackie Robson 0418 369 741 Donor Family Rep. Adelaide A
Donor Heroes' Night History
Please Note that stats do vary greatly from year to due to the ability of gaining feedback from shared sources and also the access to funds enabling advertising through Facebook and the engagement of Third Parties involved in promoting organ/tissue donation and transplantation
2025
342 posts from donor families and recipients were recorded against the Event o the night. These posts recorded 1,356 likes and 8,631 views. In the four weeks leading up to the event, 34,545 views were recorded from 10 publications advertising the event. Finally, from a combination of YouTube, Instagram and X, 764 comments were generated.
2024
In conjunction with Donor Families Australia, both Donor & 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 without them.
2023
DFA reached out to Australians Federal Politicians resulting in 20 Politicians from all sides of politics supporting the Event. It was encouraging to see a broader community involvement over that of 2022 with increase of involvement across all areas of Social Media. Facebook "Reaches, Likes, Engagements, Comments and Shared postings" this year reflected a slight increase over those gained in 2022.
2022
This years Event involved 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.
2021
Involvement across all platforms saw a rise to 125,000 actions that involved in the weeks leading up to and including the night of the 18th May.
2020
On the 18th May 2020, the inaugural Donor Heroes Night was held. The event was inspired by thousands of Aussies commemorating ANZAC day (during Covid) 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. The resulting outcome was that approximately 50,000 Australians were involved in the event through the use of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Connect with us on Facebook
#DonorHeroesNight #DonorHeroes #DonorFamilies #leavealighton #forevergrateful