Organ donation is one of those things that you always think about but never actually get around to doing.
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Many people speak positively about the benefits of organ donation, of being able to save a life in death, yet organisations such as DonateLife are still grappling with not enough people signing up to make it official.
Launceston will benefit economically from organ donation next year when the city hosts the 2020 Australian Transplant Games, which will bring donors and recipients from across the country to celebrate.
Heart recipient Mark Brewer, who was diagnosed with heart failure aged only 32, is one of the athletes who will participate in the Transplant Games when they come to his home city.
Mr Brewer tells the story of why the Games are so important best in his own words:
"The Transplant Games were started to give recipients a chance to regain their fitness, to give them something to work towards. That gave me that inspiration to do that as well," he said.
"The games also give us an opportunity to demonstrate to our friends and other people that after having an organ transplant you can live a normal life.
"We don't know our donor. We never get told that. But it's a way of thanking them, of showing them the gratitude that we have and how we're not going to waste that opportunity.
The announcement ties in well with DonateLife's annual Thank You Day, a national day where the community comes together to show their thanks and acknowledge the generosity of organ and tissue donors and their families, by sharing messages of support via social media and registering as a donor.
DonateLife's Thank You Day will be held on November 17.
Becoming an organ and tissue donor is one of the most selfless things you can do, to give back life to somebody else. It's also a big commitment for the families of donors, who need to come to terms that things like eyes, hearts and other brains will be transplanted into another person - all those things that made a loved one unique.
Donors are a special breed of people, and they deserve our thanks - and the best way to do that is by registering and signing up to be one yourself. Register with the Australian Donor Register here.
For more information about the Transplant Games visit transplant.org.au
