DonateLife Week: Gippsland teen saves lives as organ donor

Harvey Williams was named “most promising lifesaver” by his Surf Life Saving Club – and he became just that, as an organ donor, after tragically dying at age 19.

Harvey Williams loved the outdoors, had an “infectious laugh”, was academically gifted and looked out for his younger sister, Imogen.

The apprentice diesel mechanic from Tambo Upper in Gippsland, Victoria, was always willing to help others – including as a member of Surf Life Saving Lakes Entrance, where he was named “most promising lifesaver” while completing his Bronze Medallion.

When Harvey tragically died in a car accident last year, aged 19, he became just that – a lifesaver, as an organ donor.

His loving parents, Erryn and Andrew, were never in doubt that this would be their boy’s legacy.

“As tragic as it was, it was a no-brainer for us,” Erryn said.

Andrew added: “That was a large part of his personality, helping others.”

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Harvey Williams, of Gippsland, Victoria, became an organ donor after dying in a car accident at age 19 in 2023. Picture: supplied

Harvey with his “most promising lifesaver” award. Picture: supplied

Erryn and Imogen Williams with a photo of their beloved Harvey. Picture: David Smith

Sharing Harvey’s story during DonateLife Week to encourage Australians to support organ donation, Erryn recalled him driving an hour and a half to Benambra to keep a family friend company and chop wood for her while her husband was in hospital.

He also helped classmates with their school work “without making them feel silly”, and his “special relationship” with Imogen meant he had her back.

“He’d put the bait on her hook, or if she broke down on the motorbike or got stuck, he’d help her,” Erryn said. “We didn’t really realise how many people’s lives he had touched (until he had passed).

“He was just an amazing kid. We’re missing him greatly.”

How to register as an organ donor.

While his parents knew ‘yes’ was the only answer to the question of Harvey becoming an organ donor, they were left with complex feelings.

“It’s not joy, not satisfaction,” Andrew said. “But we’re very grateful that he could assist so many in so many different ways, and for DonateLife navigating us (through the donation process) with compassion.”

Erryn added: “There was never any pressure. The amazing people at DonateLife and the Alfred hospital … gave Harvey care, respect and did the same for us.

“It’s with a very heavy heart that we can’t have him. But I feel like he does live on.”

Erryn urged Australians young and old to discuss their organ donation wishes with their loved ones, so they weren’t caught off guard if tragedy struck.

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Harvey loved the outdoors, spending his spare time fishing, camping, motorbike riding and more. Picture: supplied

He was academically gifted and loved helping others. Picture: supplied

To keep Harvey’s memory alive, the family planted a tree and installed a plaque in a “special spot” in Tambo Upper.

“We had spent a lot of time there when both children were little (and it) became somewhere that Harvey spent a lot of time with his friends,” Andrew said.

Erryn added that Harvey’s family and friends would soon gather to mark what would have been his 21st birthday.

“Harvey had an infectious grin and an infectious laugh,” she said.

“When we came home from the hospital, there were four kookaburras sitting in the tree, which we felt was representative of our family. So we believe that Harvey is now a kookaburra – a free, happy bird, forever laughing.”

Take one minute to register as a donor at donatelife.gov.au

Aussies urged to recruit lifesaving ‘plus one’

More than 50 Australians died while on the waitlist for an organ transplant last year, spurring a call for all registered donors to recruit a “plus one” to the lifesaving cause.

The plea from Australia’s Organ and Tissue Authority comes as it launches DonateLife Week – an annual campaign to encourage people to support organ and tissue donation.

“If every person who is registered to be a donor encouraged one friend to register, (it) would mean about 240 more people would receive a lifesaving transplant each year,” OTA chief executive Lucinda Barry said.

She urged the 7.7 million people currently on the Australian Organ Donor Register to emphasise, when recruiting their plus one, that registering only took one minute via donatelife.gov.au or three taps in the Express Plus Medicare app.

Anyone aged 16-plus is encouraged to make the potentially lifesaving pledge, and then tell their family their wishes.

A shortage of donated organs meant 22 Australians tragically died while on the waitlist for a liver transplant in 2023, alongside 12 awaiting a kidney, 12 needing a lung, four waitlisted for a heart and one needing a pancreas.

But these numbers could be much higher, as patients can be removed from the waitlist if they become too sick to receive a transplant.

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Despite four in five Australians supporting donation, just over a third of the eligible population is registered. The proportion is less than a quarter in Victoria – the lowest of Australia’s states.

Almost 1400 people nationwide received transplants in 2023, from 513 deceased donors.

But Ms Barry said at any one time, 1800 Australians were on the waitlist, in addition to 14,000 people on dialysis whose lives would be changed by a transplant.

“Less than 2 per cent of people who die in hospital can be considered for organ donation,” she said, adding their families then needed to consent to them becoming donors.

“Our goal is to get as many people off the waitlist and receiving a transplant as we can, so that they can lead a full and healthy life.

“We call for people to register because more than eight in 10 families say ‘yes’ if their loved one is registered.”

One organ donor can save the lives up to seven people.

Originally published as DonateLife Week: Gippsland teen saves lives as organ donor