A PLACE TO CONNECT

In 2012 Kevin Green, a kidney recipient, started the Facebook group Donor and Recipients Group Australia, to provide a forum where donor families could share their stories, and provide support to other families.

Since then, the Donor and Recipients Group Australia has grown to accommodate over 2,000 members, a mix of both donor family members and transplant recipients. Hundreds of stories, from both donor family members and transplant recipients, have been shared on the page – and as a direct result of the information shared, 52 matches have been successfully made.

Alongside these positive stories, there are also common threads of frustration, with multiple tales of correspondence gone astray. Donor family members have expressed their distress towards the dehumanising process whereby their loved one is rendered nameless in official correspondence.

In response, Donor Families Australia (a communitybased support group) initiated a register to facilitate connections where both parties have expressed a desire to communicate without the gatekeeper actions of DonateLife.

It is important to note that unlike health professionals and DonateLife staff, who are required to keep information regarding organ donors and transplant recipients confidential, the same legislation does not apply to a third party.

To find out more about organ donation in Australia, visit donatelife.gov.au