Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria

17/11/2025

Today, on DonateLife Thank You Day, we say a heartfelt thank you all living and deceased organ and tissue donors, and their families who said yes to donation and gave others a second chance at life 🫶

Today, on DonateLife Thank You Day, we say a heartfelt thank you all living and deceased organ and tissue donors, and their families who said yes to donation and gave others a second chance at life 🫶

There are thousands of Australians whose lives would look very different today without organ and tissue donation. Many of them would not have survived without a transplant.

Share this post, or use the digital resources on our website to share a message of gratitude for donors and their families today: donatelife.gov.au/thankyouday

22/10/2025

Wear orange this Wednesday – 22 October!

Saffron Day honours 7-year-old organ donor Deyaan Udani, whose incredible gift gave four people another chance at a full and healthy life.

Getting involved is simple:
👉Wear something saffron (orange)
👉Start a conversation with your friends and family about organ and tissue donation
👉Share your orange outfit on social media
👉Tag &
👉Use hashtags &

22/10/2025

22/10/2025

Today – 22 October 2025 – we join with Australians everywhere to observe Saffron Day, a day of powerful meaning and hope.

Saffron Day was founded in honour of young Deyaan Udani, whose decision and legacy as an organ and tissue donor continue to save lives and inspire.

At Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, we stand in solidarity with this mission. We celebrate the incredible gift of donation – the gift of second chances, renewed life, and stronger communities.

We invite everyone to:

✅ Register your decision to become an organ and tissue donor.
🧡 Wear something orange – saffron is a symbol of strength, courage and the selfless act of giving.
👪 Talk with your loved ones about your decision. Your family’s awareness makes a life-saving difference.

Every year in Australia, thousands of people are on waiting lists, hoping for the gift of life. By registering your donor decision and having that conversation, you become part of something bigger – you become hope.

Thank you to all donors and their families for your courage and kindness. And thank you to the communities across Victoria and the nation who help carry this message forward.

Together, we can transform today into a gesture with a legacy.

12/09/2025

Shelley reminds us that just one individual tissue donor could change the life of up to one hundred Australians ❤️

This week’s spotlight on eye and tissue donation gives us the chance to provide important information for those considering registering to be an eye and tissue donor, and for their families.

Did you know?

ℹ️During end-of-life care, the medical team and donation specialists will discuss the options with your family. Care, dignity and respect are always maintained.
ℹ️ Eye and tissue donation can occur up to 24 hours after death and outside of an ICU or a hospital. This means many more Aussies can become tissue donors than organ donors.
ℹ️ Donation specialist staff, such as Shelley and the nursing team at Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, keep in contact with your family and provide support and information.
ℹ️ Bone tissue is the most transplanted tissue in Australia. Long bone tissues can be used to replace those destroyed by cancer, while smaller sections of bones can be milled and used to fill areas where bone has been lost e.g. in the spine.
ℹ️ Tissue donation is treated like all surgeries, with surgical incisions closed and dressed with dignity and respect. Families are still able to have an open-casket funeral after tissue donation.
ℹ️ Donor age is not that important – most eye donors are in their 70s. Eye donors can have any eye colour, blood type or level of eyesight.

It really is simple to register as a tissue donor, using this link https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today.

11/09/2025

We’re forever thankful to all tissue donor families for the generosity and kindness they show during some of the most difficult times of their lives.

Janine and all the incredible team of specialist nurses at The Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria support donor families through each step of the donor journey. Tissue donation is so rewarding for donors and their families, and the reason someone else gets a second chance at life.

It really is simple to register as a tissue donor, using this link https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today.

We encourage all donors to have the conversation with their family when they sign up as a donor to make it that little bit easier when the time comes for donation.

Remember - just one individual tissue donor could change the life of up to one hundred Australians ❤️

10/09/2025

Thanks Rachael ❤️ and here’s the link you mentioned - https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today.

It really is simple to register as a tissue donor and so rewarding for donors and their families – you can be the reason someone else gets a second chance at life. Just one individual tissue donor could change the life of up to one hundred Australians.

And when the time comes, Rachael and all the incredible team of specialist nurses at The Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria support donor families through each step of the donor journey.

Tissue donation includes skin, parts of the eye, heart valves and other heart tissue, bones and tendons. It transforms lives in many ways, including saving burns victims, restoring sight, repairing heart abnormalities in babies and adults, rebuilding tendons and reconstructing bones.

08/09/2025

This week, we’re shining a spotlight on eye and tissue donation 🔦

Did you know eye and tissue donation changes the lives of thousands of Australians each year? Tissue includes:

❤ skin
❤ parts of the eye, such as the cornea and sclera
❤ heart valves and other heart tissue
❤ bones and tendons

Compared to organ donation, many more people can become eye and tissue donors. You don’t have to die in hospital to be considered for eye and tissue donation, and donation can occur up to 24 hours after death.

Tissue donation transforms lives in many ways. This includes saving burns victims, restoring sight, repairing heart abnormalities in babies and adults, rebuilding tendons and reconstructing bones.

If you’ve been touched by eye and tissue donation, help spread the word by sharing a social media tile and sharing with your network.

01/08/2025

Today, and with mum Ann's blessing, we are so proud to be able to share this picture of her son Tom, who was a tissue donor. Amidst the devastation of losing Tom - who was such a special part of their family, Ann takes great pride in knowing that through his tissue donation he continues to help others. For the family, it's like a rainbow moment on a cloudy day.

It’s almost the end of DonateLife Week 2025, and we do hope that the stories of Tom and Levi that we've shared encourage more Australians to register as organ and tissue donors and be the reason someone else gets a second chance at life.

We know that 4 in 5 Australians say they support donation, but only 1 in 3 are registered to be a donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).

Registering is easy. It takes less than one minute.
https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today

31/07/2025

Ann didn't even know of some of the beautiful things her son Tom had done until he’d passed, but she always knew how much he loved helping people – so tissue donation was not a difficult decision for them to make - it was a reflection of the way Tom lived.

Read Ann's tribute letter to Tom and his legacy ❤️

"After Tom's sudden and unexpected death we didn't want this tragedy to overwhelm us - we wanted something good to come out of his life and death. Tom loved life and we felt he would have been really happy knowing that other people had their lives enhanced by his gift- that other people have the opportunity to love life the way Tom did."

"Tom was the 4th of 11 children (7 boys/4 girls). He was a horticulturist with an amazing work ethic. He was very driven, everything (except his bedroom) had to be done just right!!!"

"He loved helping people, online gaming and his great passion was marathon running. He was extremely strong and fit as well as a very private person - we didn't even know of some of the beautiful things he had done til after his death!"

"Amidst the devastation of losing such a special part of our family there is great pride that he continues to help others. It's like a rainbow moment on a cloudy day."

It’s DonateLife Week 2025, and we want all Australians to register as organ and tissue donors and be the reason someone else gets a second chance at life.

We know that 4 in 5 Australians say they support donation, but only 1 in 3 are registered to be a donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).

Registering is easy. It takes less than one minute.
https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today

29/07/2025

As an 11 year old boy, Levi received a bone tissue donation which turned his life around. His mum Melissa will be forever grateful to the donor family and cherishes the role they played in Levi’s journey with them, and their decision to donate.

It’s DonateLife Week 2025, and the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria wants all Australians to register as organ and tissue donors and be the reason someone else gets a second chance at life, just like Levi.

We know that 4 in 5 Australians say they support donation, but only 1 in 3 are registered to be a donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).

Registering is easy. It takes less than one minute.
https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today

28/07/2025

Melissa is mum to Levi, an 11 year old boy who received a bone tissue donation which has turned his life around. She will be forever grateful to the donor family and cherishes the role they played in Levi’s journey and their decision to donate.

It’s DonateLife Week 2025, and the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria would like all Australians to register as organ and tissue donors and be the reason someone else gets a second chance at life, just like Levi.

We know that 4 in 5 Australians say they support donation, but only 1 in 3 are registered to be a donor on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).

Registering is easy. It takes less than one minute.
https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today