What is DonateLife Week?
DonateLife Week 2012 will take place from Sunday 19 - Sunday 26 February.
DonateLife Week is Australia's national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation.
During DonateLife Week, the organ and tissue sector will be holding a range of events to encourage Australians to set time aside during the week to talk about organ and tissue donation.
DonateLife Week is the national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation in Australia and is led by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of the Australian Government's National Reform Agenda to increase organ and tissue donation rates.
The national theme for DonateLife Week 2012 is "Ask and know your loved ones' wishes". This is because in Australia the family of every potential donor is always asked to confirm the donation wishes of their loved one before organ and/or tissue donation can proceed. Proposed activities must be aligned with the national theme.
Click here for the DonateLife Week 2012 Online Kit which has many resources and ideas to help you get involved.
Participants are also strongly encouraged to incorporate promotion of the DonateLife Book of Life: A collection of life-saving and life-changing stories from people touched by organ and tissue donation as part of their DonateLife Week 2012 activities. The printed and online book, which was launched in DonateLife Week 2011, is a living book for Australians by Australians. The Book of Life can be viewed online at www.donatelife.gov.au
Register your 2012 DonateLife Week events using the attached Event Registration form and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Click here to read about our DonateLife Ambassadors.
Goal for the Week
The goal for DonateLife Week is to encourage all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation and to discuss their donation decision with the people closest to them.
During the Week, DonateLife will be focused on encouraging all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation, share their stories and wishes about organ donation and generate family and close friend discussion.
Launch of DonateLife Week 2011
Australia's first DonateLife Week was launched by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, the Hon Catherine King MP Read the media release or Read the speech
At the launch, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Ms Quentin Bryce AC was named as Australia's inaugural DonateLife Ambassador. The Governor-General launched the DonateLife Book of Life. Read Her Excellency's speech here.
Mrs Robyn Gough shared the story of daughter Melody who saved the lives of three people through her act of organ donation Read Melody's story
The national launch was held at the National Library of Australia and the official hosts were Ms Yael Cass, Chief Executive Officer of the Organ and Tissue Authority and Acting Director General of the National Library, Dr Warwick Cathro.
The event took place in the presence of many donor families, transplant recipients and supporters of organ and tissue donation.
The DonateLife Book of Life
The DonateLife Book of Life contains stories of hope about organ and tissue donation written by everyday Australians. Donor recipients, donor families, live donors and everyday people share their experiences in the DonateLife Book of Life.
See the online version of the DonateLife Book of Life here, or submit your own story to the DonateLife Book of Life here.
The DonateLife Week Supporters Kit
We have put together a collection of resources and activity ideas for promoting DonateLife Week. This is called the DonateLife Week Supporters Kit and is available on our website. Click here to see the Supporters Kit.
