Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be with you today to launch DonateLifeNT awareness week in the Northern Territory.

It is my honour to be here as the inaugural DonateLife Ambassador.

I applaud the work being done in the Territory by the Organ and Tissue Authority at the Royal Darwin and Alice Springs Hospitals. 

Friends, DonateLife Week gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of organ and tissue donation.

The very special capacity we each have to save - or heal - the lives of others.

This week we acknowledge all those donors and their families, whose decisions have given thousands of Australians the chance of a new life.

One year ago, I launched the DonateLife Book of Life – a unique collection of life-saving and life-changing stories about Australians whose lives have been touched by organ and tissue donation.

I invited Australians to embrace this book as it set out on a year-long journey across the nation.  

On its travels it has prompted many conversations and has provided inspiration and hope to many.

That first collection of stories has grown ten-fold, and has returned to us enriched by hundreds of stories that Australians have generously contributed during the year.

There are now two volumes of the DonateLife Book of Life in the National Library of Australia’s collection.

As Australians continue to share their stories, new volumes will be created to add to the rich record.

Friends, these are the tales of the lives of ordinary Australians: brothers, sisters, parents, partners, sons and daughters whose legacy lives on through their extraordinary decision to become a donor.

A generous gesture to a fellow human being.

There are uplifting accounts of donor families who, in their darkest hour, found comfort.

A knowledge that in their own time of loss they offered life and hope to others.

There are recipients from the Northern Territory who, following a transplant, have been able to live their lives in ways they did not dream possible.

To realise they had a future they could not have previously imagined.

Katrina reflects on the moment when she was told she would be receiving a new heart at the tender age of eleven, asking the question “Will it make me feel better?” 

Born with a hole in her heart, she was given her second chance at life through a heart transplant.

“I understand it is a hard decision to make when faced with the question, which is why it’s very important to discuss it when you are alive”.

Jan was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a child and not expected to live past the age of three.

Through the generosity of a donor and their family, Jan recently celebrated her 60th birthday following a lung transplant.

Jan says, “I admire and I am forever grateful to the donor family. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here with my beautiful daughter and she wouldn’t have her Mum”.

When Mike suffered a fatal stroke, his family were devastated.

But they remembered his wishes to be a donor.

This brought comfort to his family who are proud that he saved and improved the lives of others by donating his kidneys, lungs and heart valves.

I commend the work being done by DonateLife NT with local Indigenous communities.

Three kidney recipients - Jeannie Herbert, Didamain Uibo, and David Croker have been helping to develop educational resources about brain injuries, organ donation and transplant, and keeping body organs healthy.

Their contribution will be invaluable to raising awareness in their families and communities.

In the DonateLife book, Didamain shares her journey from the diagnosis of kidney failure and restrictions on dialysis to a life of independence and new-found freedom following her kidney transplant.

I also commend Artback NT for their Indigenous theatre project, which will take the DonateLife message right across the Northern Territory.

Through the unique medium of performance theatre, this project will transcend language, culture and community – promoting the capacity we each share to give life.

I wish all involved in this project much success in your travels which will include Darwin, the Tiwi Islands, Alice Springs and Santa Teresa.

Friends, it takes courage and generosity to share these stories with strangers.

We sincerely thank each contributor to the Book of Life.

This week the message for all Australians is that we ask and know the donation wishes of our loved ones.

DonateLife Week highlights the vital importance of having a family conversation, however difficult or uncomfortable it may be.

I make a special plea to our young Australians - who are less likely to have discussed or made decisions about organ donation – to talk about it, with your friends and with your family.

As more Australian families ask and know each other’s wishes, more lives can be, and are being, saved and healed through organ and tissue donation.

Results to date are encouraging, with 2011 achieving the highest number yet of donors and transplant recipients in Australia.

I pay tribute to the leadership and dedication of the DonateLife network in managing organ and tissue donation across the nation – as well as here in the Territory.

I acknowledge the skill and expertise of the transplant community in saving and improving more Australian lives.

I congratulate the many organisations, students and community groups around the nation who this week have joined with DonateLife to encourage more Australian families to ask and know each other’s wishes.

This week each one of us can have a conversation that could one day save or heal a life.

Thank you.