Tuesday, 14 May 2024

 Moira DEEMING (Western Metropolitan) (14:33): This week I was honoured to attend a very special fundraising event in support of Transplant Australia. The event was put on in collaboration with the Healthcare Awareness Society of Australia and a fantastic initiative called Body Buddies. Body Buddies was created by Aayushi Khillan to promote health awareness to young people, and it sells soft plushie organ characters like Bronchiole Bros, Cerebella, Cornelia and Aortina.

It was an emotional night for everyone there, including me in my own small way. I remembered that when I was 12 a childhood friend, who was as close to me as a brother, died suddenly of an asthma attack. I still remember the heartbreaking, selfless and brave decision that his parents made to donate his organs. Right now one of my very best friends has two sons who will need heart transplants and probably liver transplants too if they are going to make it to 30 years of age.

And who did I discover was hosting the event – it was none other than our family paediatrician Dr Raj Khillan, and he is also the 2023 Australian of the Year. I just want to thank and congratulate Raj and Aayushi for their amazing work, and I would like to say a very special thankyou to all those who have donated organ and tissues from their loved ones and turned the worst moment of their lives into the moment of greatest relief and joy in another family’s life.