How grief-stricken mum and wife found hope through loved ones' gift of life

The former nurse lost her 18-year-old son Luke in a traffic accident and then her husband Tony from a brain aneurism - two tragic losses that resulted in her son and husband both becoming organ donors in the space of 13 years. Between them, they saved the lives of 10 people, and the sight of two people.

Viv speaks beautifully about her story and is proud that her beloved son and husband have left such an incredible legacy through organ and tissue donation.

In 2023, the oldest organ donor in Victoria was aged 83 and of the 142 deceased donors in Victoria last year; 76 were aged 50 or above.

As peak body Donate Life Australia maintains - you are never too old to be an organ or tissue donor and possibly save a life.

Life for someone waiting for a donor organ can be painful and frustrating. There are around 1,800 Australians on the organ transplant waitlist and for most of these people, it's a matter of life or death plus there are a further 13,000 on dialysis who may benefit from a kidney transplant.

One organ donor can save up to 7 lives, and many more people can benefit from eye and tissue donation.

Richard Betteridge has a hero he has never met and never will but he thinks about this unknown person every day.

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At death's door with non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, Richard was given a second chance at life through an organ donation. "I was on the waiting list for a liver but I was really crook and the doctors didn't think I'd make it," said Richard.

Today the 67-year-old Bendigo retiree is living the good life. He enjoys going bush, gold detecting, gardening, photography, volunteering at the local hospital, spending time with his family and spruiking the value of organ donation whenever he can.

Vivienne and her family had spoken about organ donation as she had previously met a liver transplant recipient in hospital who had told her about the difference the transplant had made in her life. Vivienne also worked with a woman whose husband had received a kidney transplant.

Vivienne said giving consent even while grieving wasn't difficult because it was something her family had discussed. "We were all on the same page," she said.

"Dr Rohit D'Costa, State Medical Director, DonateLife Victoria said, "For someone who is seriously ill, an organ and tissue transplant can mean the difference between life and death, being healthy or sick, seeing or being blind, or between being active or never walking again."

It's surprisingly rare and special to become an organ donor - to be one you usually need to die in hospital, on a ventilator in intensive care, as organs need to be working well to be transplanted. Less than 2 per cent of people who die in hospital are eligible to become a donor.

Your family also have to agree to allow your organs to be donated even if you have already signed onto the donor register so it's important to have that talk.

Around nine in 10 families say yes to donation when you are registered. Only four in 10 families say yes if they are unsure what to do.

Donate Life Week runs from July 28 to August 4.

You can register as a donor at www.donatelife.gov.au (It takes one minute and you only need your Medicare card), through your MyGov account or the Express Plus Medicare app. To register over the phone or request a paper form call Services Australia 1800 777 203 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm).