The annual DonateLife Walk, organised by Gift of Life, is on again on Wednesday 22 February 2012 and thousands of Canberrans are expected to take part to show their support for organ and tissue donation. The event is sponsored by the Organ and Tissue Authority.

The walk is the main Canberra community event during national DonateLife Week, which runs from 19 to 26 February 2012. During this week, all Australians are encouraged to ask and know their loved ones' wishes about organ and tissue donation. This is because in Australia the family will always be asked to confirm the donation wishes of the deceased before donation for transplantation can proceed.

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The DonateLife Book of Life: A collection of life-saving and life-changing stories from people touched by organ and tissue donation contains stories of hope about donation written by everyday Australians.

The Hon. Catherine King, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, recently released a new resource to help Australians overcome barriers to discussing organ and tissue donation.  In launching the resource, Ms King said that it will be a valuable resource.  She noted that it was developed by Gift of Life with a community awareness grant.

Community speakers are urged to undertake volunteer training through DonateLife ACT.  A copy of the resource is available at the DonateLife website. 

The new DonateLife campaign commenced on 5 June with the them of To donate life, ask them today.  OK?

The advertisement that has been running on television stations throughout the country can be viewed at the DonateLife website.

The Parliamentary Secretary's speech at the launch of the new campaign is available here.

It was a glorious morning for more than 1,800 Australians to participate in the DonateLife walk on Wednesday, 23 Feb 2011.  Gift of Life again organised the walk with the support of the Australian Organ & Tissue Donation & Transplant Authority.

Building on the success of previous years, the DonateWalk gave participants to embrace the national message for DonateLife week:  Any day is a good day to discuss organ donation.
 
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l-r  Students from St Clare's College assist The Hon. Kevin Rudd, MP, The Hon. Catherine King, MP, Ms Katy Gallagher, MLA, Mr Stephen Jones MP and Mr David O'Leary to launch the DonateLife Walk. (photo IDPhoto.com.au)

The Organ & Tissue Authority has established a DontateLife Book of Life. Organisations or individuals have lodged stories with the Authority and the final version of the DonateLife Book of Life was launched by the Governor-General during DonateLife week in February 2011.

The book will be updated and if you are interested in nominating someone to appear in the book, the template should be completed and submitted via Gift of Life or via the DonateLife ACT agency or directly to the Authority.     


l-r The Governor General, The Hon. Catherine King, MP and Ms Robyn Gough (photo:  www.gg.gov.au)