A Taylors Hill resident, whose late husband donated his corneas after his death, is urging the community to consider registering as an organ and tissue donor this month.
DonateLife – Australia’s national program aimed at increasing organ and tissue donation – hosts an annual awareness raising week to call on Australians to consider registering as organ or tissue donors. This year, DonateLife Week runs from Sunday, July 27 to Sunday, August 3.
Melissa Garwood’s husband Lynden Thorogood donated his corneas to two recipients following his death from terminal bowel cancer in 2023 at age 33 after a diagnosis in mid-2022.
Prior to his diagnosis, Lynden had expressed to Melissa his wish to donate his organs and was a registered organ donor.
Due to his diagnosis, Lynden was informed that he was ineligible to donate, but Melissa said it was through a conversation with one of his childhood friends who worked for DonateLife that they discovered he could still donate his corneas.
“He was an organ donor – that was something he wanted to do as a person,” Melissa said.
“[It was] the last time he was really happy about anything. There was so much obviously to be sad about at the time … his face lit up … that was the last time I would see he was happy.”
Donating through The Lions Eye Donation Service, Melissa said a representative from the organisation contacted her to let her know that two transplants to two younger men were successful.
“The only way that he was [able] to donate his corneas is because I knew his wishes so clearly … we’d talked about organ donation when he was well enough,” Melissa said.
“Having the discussion about organ donation with family is really important, and really considering and registering for organ and tissue donation – it’s a wonderful thing to be able to give life, or something almost equally as important like eyesight, to another individual like what Lynden did.”
She kept a brooch provided by The Lions Eye Donation Service after Lynden’s donation along with the letters regarding the successful transplants – all of which she said she plans to give to her daughter in future to “demonstrate to her the type of person her dad was”.
Details: donatelife.gov.au
