William Baker was an adventurous, headstrong rule breaker; he also had a big and incredibly kind heart.
Like most teenage boys, he thought he was bulletproof and immortal, mum Kim Baker said.
The Baker family’s world fell apart when William tragically lost his life in 2022 following a serious traffic crash involving a van and motorbike at Blacks Beach.
Two years on, her grief still very raw, Kim said she finds comfort knowing that Will’s heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were donated to help save five people.
“From the minute we arrived in the ED that night I said ‘if he doesn’t make it, do everything you can to keep him alive and take his organs,’” she said.
“I guess it was instinct given my medical background as a nurse, but it also helped us find some good in the enormous and overwhelming grief.”
DonateLife Week, which is held from 28 July to 4 August, is the national awareness week to encourage more Australians to get behind organ and tissue donation.
As a donor family, Kim wanted to speak out to help raise awareness and encourage organ donation registration.
Four of the five recipients of William’s organs were women, including a baby, a teenager and a woman who had a rare form of liver cancer.
“I think sometimes that is seems so unfair; the recipients get another chance at life, to be able to function and be with their family, and William doesn’t,” Kim said.
“I know that is part of the grief process, but there’s also great comfort knowing that he lives on in others and that his sad loss gave others another opportunity at life.”
There are currently 1800 Australians on the organ waitlist and 14,000 more on dialysis for kidney failure. One organ donor can save the lives of up to seven people and change the lives of many more through eye and tissue donation.
Three months after William’s death, Kim wrote a confidential letter to the organ recipients describing their son and his love of skateboarding, fishing, travelling and snowboarding.
The unwavering support of organ donation Mackay HHS clinical nurse consultant Donna Contor and DonateLife counsellors had also been vital as the Bakers came to terms with the loss of their son and the transplant process.
“She was and is always still there to offer us support, answer our questions or sit in silence when it’s needed,” Kim said.
“The DonateLife events like the annual Remembrance Service and Thank You days are important to donor families – they help validate our feelings and become a safe place to express our emotions.
“You meet other families and realise you aren’t alone in this process – we aren’t the first or the last to go through this and that everyone’s journey through grief is different.”
The Baker family travelled to the Cook Islands last month and participated in variety of William’s favourite activities including fishing, snorkelling and mud buggies. Kim and her daughter Brianna tackled Mt Kilimanjaro in June last year to celebrate William’s life and his love of snowy mountain tops.
Sadly, more than 50 Australians died last year while on the organ transplant waitlist.
“I really want people to spread the word about organ donation; to have the conversation with their families and then go ahead and register as organ and tissue donors,” Kim said.
“For someone who is seriously ill, an organ or tissue transplant can mean the difference between life and death, being healthy or sick.
“It only takes a minute, but lives really depend on it.”
Register at donatelife.gov.au or with three taps on your Express Plus Medicare app.
