This DonateLife Week (28 July – 4 August 2024), donation nurse Danielle Griffiths shares how she ended up in her dream job, supporting patients and families in considering organ donation.
Q. Why do you do this job?
A. I started working in intensive care in 2000 at a large trauma hospital where I cared for patients who became organ and tissue donors. I also cared for patients post liver transplantation. I was in awe of the generosity of families to think of others during their time of grief by consenting to donation as well as seeing firsthand the lifesaving effects of liver transplantation.
Q. What do you enjoy most about your role?
A. I enjoy empowering and supporting families to make a donation decision that’s right for them. Listening to families share stories of their loved ones including their wishes at end of life. I enjoy working in collaboration with the wider hospital team inclusive of nurses, doctors, allied health and executive staff to support organ and tissue donation as an end-of-life care option for patients at Peninsula Health. The opportunity to engage and network with colleagues throughout Victoria and the whole of Australia to coordinate organ and tissue donation – it takes a whole village to facilitate donation.
Q. What’s your highlight from 2023?
A. I started working at Peninsula Health in late 2023 and am grateful for the warm welcome that I have received from staff throughout the hospital. In 2023, there was an increase in organ and tissue donors at Peninsula Health since the COVID pandemic, with 17 families generously consenting to organ and tissue donation. This helped save the lives of 20 complete strangers through organ donation and transforming the lives of many more through eye and tissue donation.
Q. How can people learn more about organ donation?
A. People can learn more about organ and tissue donation by going to the DonateLife website www.donateLife.gov.au where you can read stories from donor families and recipients and learn the facts about organ and tissue donation in Australia.
This DonateLife Week, register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or via your Medicare Express Plus app – and don’t forget to tell your family.