'His legacy': How organ donation touched this Aussie family's life twice

Sarah tragically lost her brother Andrew last year, but he is leaving behind an incredible legacy that has left his family ‘so proud’.

Not only was Andrew able to donate his organs and tissue when he died to save four people’s lives, but six years prior to his death he had received a kidney – putting him in the incredible position of being both a transplant recipient and a donor.

“The legacy which he has left is amazing,” Sarah tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I have always loved my brother, but he is now my hero. He has given the gift of life to some and improved the quality of life to others. What more can we ask for? We are so proud of him.”

Andrew’s own health challenges first began in 2013, when he was diagnosed with kidney failure.

“Looking back, there were some early warning signs like suffering from extended bouts of vomiting, but this was easily dismissed as a virus or being generally unwell. It wasn’t until after his diagnosis that things began to deteriorate quite quickly,” Sarah says.

In 2014, Andrew received a kidney transplant and was on his way to reclaiming his life. At the time, Andrew stepped away from his work as a tradie to take care of his mother full-time, who was unwell.

But while everything went well and Andrew was expected to have many years of life following his transplant, he tragically passed away due to an unrelated brain aneurysm.

“Following the transplant Andrew was healthy and life was slowly going back to normal for him,” Sarah says.

“When he died, it was just so tragic and unexpected.”

When Andrew’s family was asked about donating his organs, they were unsure if he could – being a transplant recipient himself.

They were quickly reassured there were numerous other organs and tissue that Andrew would be able to donate. So they said yes, and his lungs and liver were split and he also donated eye tissue.

“We felt that another family made the choice in order to give my brother a new quality of life, so if he could do that for others then it is the biggest gift that we could ever give on his behalf,” she says, admitting that before organ donation impacted her family, they did not know very much about it.

“I don’t think anyone knows how important it is unless you are faced with needing an organ yourself,” she says. “I am proud of my family for the selfless decision we made.”

While Andrew’s passing is still very raw for Sarah and their family, they take comfort knowing that someone helped Andrew when he needed it and in turn, he was able to help others.

“What goes around, really does come around,” she says, adding they have had some contact from organ recipients via anonymous letters.

“It was such a great feeling to hear from them and that they were very grateful and doing really well,” she tells us.

“I am hoping in the future that we could meet some of the recipients [this is currently illegal in Australia]. At the moment just knowing the difference my brother has made is a blessing.”

To register to be an organ and tissue donor, visit donatelife.gov.au. It only takes a minute.

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