Written by Sarah Fraser-Chitticks
Last week was DonateLife Week 2022, 24-31 July 2022.
DonateLife Week is a chance for all in Australia to speak about organ donation with their family and loved ones and learn how to register as a donor.
Here’s PHAA member Sarah with a personal reflection on organ donation after the loss of Sarah’s younger sister, Megan.
On April 11 2005 my younger sister Megan passed away from blood clot in her brain at the age of 17.
Megan and I had talked about organ donation just a few weeks prior to her death thanks to an ad on the TV about becoming an organ donor.
At 17 Megan was very outgoing, unforgettable and said she wanted to be an organ donor because “she wanted to stay on this earth as long as she could”.
Never thinking that that conversation would become a reality and the deciding factor when the doctors said that there was no brain activity just a few short weeks later.
It did help ease the ‘horrendous’ pain knowing that we were honoring Megan’s wish and that her organs had potentially saved seven lives.
During the first few years after her passing, at Christmas and on the anniversary of her passing we received letters through the organ donor association from some of the recipients of her organs. These were tough to read as we would have done anything to have Megan back, but in a small way it did also help ease the pain knowing that she became a hero to these people and their families.
So many years have passed now and it is still a small comfort knowing that Megan’s wish had been accomplished and that part of her is still on this earth.
I hope sharing my story will help encourage people to have those tough discussions with their family and friends. So that if the unthinkable ever happens, you know that you can honor your loved one’s wishes and let them stay on this earth as long as they can.
Carpe Diem my dear sister you will forever be my hero!
To learn more about DonateLife Week and how to register as an organ donor, click here.
Image: Courtesy of Sarah Fraser-Chitticks.