Community organisations across the country will share in more than $500,000 from the Morrison Joyce Government help raise awareness about organ and tissue donation in Australia and encourage more Australians to take the easy step to sign up on the Australian Organ Donor Register.
Ten community organisations will get a share of the $512,000 to promote this important cause.
Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Dr David Gillespie said there are around 13 million Australians aged 16+ who are eligible to register as organ and tissue donors – but haven’t.
“You never know if you or a loved one may one day be in need of life-saving transplant,” Dr Gillespie said.
“What we need is more people to register their wish to be an organ donor, and importantly, to tell their family.”
Dr Gillespie, a former regional doctor, said increasing awareness about organ and tissue donation, and encouraging families to talk about donation and registration, is vital to getting more people to say “yes” to donation.
“Support from organisations across the country – undertaking research, running events or online promotional activities – helps to share about the importance of organ donation and show how easy it is for people to register,” Dr Gillespie said.
“Organ donation is such a generous gift that can help so many people and their families. These new community grants will help spread the word, especially to our culturally and linguistically diverse communities, First Nations Peoples and our young Australians.”
With around 1,850 Australians on the organ transplant waiting list and a further 13,000 people on dialysis, some who may benefit from a kidney transplant, the demand for donors has never been greater.
“For some of the 1,850 Australians currently on the organ transplant waitlist, it’s a matter of life and death,” Dr Gillespie said.
Details of all successful 2022 grants is available below and on the Organ and Tissue Authority website.
The DonateLife 2022 Community Awareness Grants are provided by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of its national Community Awareness and Education Program.
Registering to be an organ and tissue donor is easy. You just need your phone, Medicare card and just one minute. Head to donatelife.gov.au or you can join through the Medicare Express Plus app where you download your COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
Successful 2022 Community Awareness Grants
| Applicant | Category | Project focus | Funding $(GST ex) |
| LaTrobe University | Research | Research into the barriers to registration amongst young people. | $22,319 |
| Gift of Life Inc. | National event (up to 3 years funding) | Canberra-based public awareness event (community walk) with national footprint and expansion plans through coordinated activities including school engagement and social media engagement. | $50,000 per year for 3 years |
| Queensland Remote Aboriginal Media | Publicity | Three-month radio campaign to support DonateLife Week targeting First Nations Peoples, including segments in four key Indigenous languages and social media content | $42,760 |
| Pixel 42 | Publicity | Produce targeted video content to First Nations People and young people with distribution through TV, Indigenous broadcasters as well as other DonateLife partner organisations. | $50,000 |
| Southern Cross University | Research | Research into beliefs about donation in with Indian and Bangladeshi communities in Sydney including dissemination strategy for national roll out and future engagement with CALD communities. | $48,580 |
| Migration Council Australia | Education | Integration of videos (animations) and articles in 20 languages into the MyAus app for migrants and refugees new to Australia. | $48,000 |
| Multicultural Communities Council WA | Education | Co-design development of educational material (booklets) on donation in ten languages and the distribution of educational material. | $33,600 |
| Multicultural Services Centre WA | Education | Co-designed development of online tools and publications (including 12 podcasts) to reach CALD communities, with further distribution though ethnic and community radio, to be scaled nationally. | $49,947 |
| Podshape Podcasting | Publicity | Podcast series about donation targeting young people and First Nations Peoples, hosted by former NRL star Sam Thaiday. | $48,500 |
| SMRD | Publicity | Saffron Day event, which promotes awareness about donation amongst people of SE Asian origin, and to the broader Australian public through digital promotional activities. | $18,000 |