New mum Kaneesha Garling will never be able to thank the person who, not only saved her life, but gave her the chance to become a mum.
The 32-year-old Cairns woman welcomed her first child, a little boy named Alexander, in May, three years after undergoing life-saving kidney and pancreas transplants.
Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a five-year-old, her body went into organ failure when she was just 24 due to high blood pressure, forcing her onto dialysis for five years before a donor was found.
Ms Garling always knew she wanted to have a baby, but for a while did not know if it would ever be possible while she waited for a transplant.
She wanted to share her story as part of DonateLife Week, which runs from 26 July to 2 August, to encourage people to register to become organ donors.
‘My donor is the reason I was able to have a baby,’ the new mum said.
‘Alex wouldn’t be here otherwise.’
The proud Aboriginal woman even attended NAIDOC Week events earlier this month to speak about organ donation as First Nations people are at significantly higher risk of kidney disease.
‘I just wanted to let people know that it is our people in there (on dialysis) suffering,’ she said.
As she needed both a kidney and a pancreas, Ms Garling’s transplant was required from a deceased donor which she said was difficult to process.
‘It’s a really hard thing to want a transplant because it means someone has to die,’ she said.
‘You feel incredible gratitude but also sadness. You mourn the person who gave it to you.
‘It’s almost like you know them because they gave you something so precious.’
The donor process is completely anonymous, but Ms Garling has been able to write letters to the donor’s family to thank them via DonateLife Australia.
Alex was born prematurely on 13 May and spent 11 weeks in the special care nursery and Cairns Hospital’s paediatric unit until he was strong enough to go home.
Kaneesha was excited to finally take Alex home earlier this week.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Organ Donation Nurse Loren Ginders said Kaneesha’s story showed the incredible impact of organ donation.
‘Not only has it given Kaneesha a new start to life, free from diabetes, which is such a challenging condition, it has given her the ultimate gift in baby Alexander,’ she said.
‘It just goes to show how one selfless act can transform someone else’s life and allow them to live a dream they thought may not be possible.’
She said this DonateLife Week everyone was urged to please register as an organ and tissue donor.
‘Talk to your family, let them know you want to be a donor – someone’s life depends on it,’ Ms Ginders said.
It only takes one minute to register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or through your Medicare account through myGov.