Heroes of Transplantation Campaign

Those who have not had or needed an organ transplant, or known someone who has, probably know very little about the journey of an organ transplant recipient and the people involved in that journey. Most transplant recipients will be ill for a long time until the doctors decide that an organ transplant is the only remaining treatment option. Then they will likely be seriously ill while waiting for a matching donor. In terms of time, the actual surgery will be the shortest part of the journey. After the surgery it will take some time for the organ recipient to recover, and then they will still need to take medications and be careful to look after themselves as many recipients will need a 2nd and even a 3rd transplant at some point in the future.

Throughout this journey, there are many people who will interact with the organ recipient. We tend to think of the donor and their family, the surgeons, the nurses, etc. Those are all heroes in this journey, but there are many more who play a role, big or small, and they too are heroes that make it possible for someone to receive an organ from another person and get another chance at life.

With our new campaign, Heroes of Transplantation, Live Life Give Life wishes to pay tribute to all those people that play a role in the process of organ transplantation, before, during and after. From the family of the organ recipient to the person who transports the organ from one hospital to another, to the surgeon who performs the procedure. All together they form a community that supports and cares for those who need and hopefully get, an organ transplant.

Over the next few months we’ll be sharing some information about the various people that are a part of this community, what role they perform and a little about themselves. We’ll be sharing profiles of people that we are connected to as many of the trustees at LLGL are organ transplant recipients or work with transplantation in some way. We will also welcome people to nominate someone that is a Hero of Transplantation to them.

We will share all these stories on our website and our social channels so that we can help people to understand that organ transplantation in not just a surgical procedure, it’s a long and difficult journey and that there are many people along the path, each doing their bit to help the transplant recipient and to ensure a successful outcome.

We celebrate the successful outcomes, but we remember that there are many who need and organ transplant but either never get it due to a lack of organs, or who do not have a successful transplantation for one of many possible reasons. One of the most important heroes in this story is the donor. Without donated organs, there is no hope for those who need an organ. But many families prevent donation at the time because they are not aware of the wishes of the person, so please have the conversation with your family and friends so that they know your wishes.