Last month DonateLife in Victoria Agency staff and Melbourne-based experts went north to participate in a number of education sessions for health professionals from Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga.

The sessions were organised by the Hospital Senior Nurses from Northeast Health Wangaratta and Albury Wodonga Health and provided a unique opportunity for regional health professionals.

“Bringing donation and end-of-life care experts from DonateLife in Victoria and leading Melbourne hospitals to our region gave local health professionals a great learning opportunity,” said local Hospital Senior Nurse Catherine Chanter.

“It enabled us to raise the profile of organ donation, update health professionals’ knowledge and skills regarding donor identification and management and explore local barriers and challenges.”

More than 100 local health professionals and key hospital executive attended the main event, an education dinner focusing on organ donation and end-of-life care.

Another 70 staff from ICU, ED and OT attended one of four one-hour education sessions and a case review discussion with the expert panel during the day.

State Medical Director Dr Helen Opdam and Organ Donor Coordinators Elizabeth Treasure and Nora O’Connor were the guest presenters from DonateLife in Victoria and covered topics including the organ and tissue donation process and donor family advocacy.

While Director of Palliative Medicine from St Vincent’s Palliative Care Services Associate Professor Mark Boughey shared his expertise on end-of-life care in the acute setting and Intensive Care Specialist from Austin Health Dr Daryl Jones explored donor identification and brain death.

Special guests at the dinner included local donor mum Kerri Ledger and local recipient Alan Clark. Kerri spoke about the death of her son Adrian and their decision to donate his organ to save the lives of six people. While Alan shared his struggle pulmonary fibrosis and the life changing gift of a double lung transplant.