Francesca's Lifesaving Connection

When Francesca Rourke receives a call about a loss of life, she knows this is an opportunity to save others. Over the coming hours, Francesca and the organ donation team from DonateLife Queensland will make an extraordinary 200 phone calls to find a match for the donated organs and make emergency flight arrangements to connect someone with the gift of life.

A specialist organ donor coordinator for DonateLife Queensland, part of the Federal Government’s Organ and Tissue Authority, Francesca relies on speed and efficiency at every step, including the air transport of her precious cargo. Over the past 16 years she has flown across the country countless times from BNE to retrieve organs, fulfilling the selfless wishes of donors and their families to save others’ lives.

It’s often the wee hours when Francesca and her organ donation team arrive at BNE. Whether retrieving or receiving an organ, time is of the essence. They have a short window of time to connect a donor organ with its recipient, which means DonateLife has priority access, even over the Premier, to the Queensland Government Air Wing Hawker and King Air. As soon as the jet is ready for take-off, BNE air traffic control ensures the highest priority flight path for the emergency journey.

“Flying with a donor organ and arriving into BNE in time to save a life is one of the biggest responsibilities I could have ever imagined,” Francesca said.

“It truly is a race against time to deliver a miracle to someone who has waited months or years for this moment.”

Francesca said her job reminds her every day of the generosity of the human spirit and the miracle that is life.

“I am always amazed at the strength and generosity of the donor families I have the privilege to meet and support through their donation journey,” she said. 

“I remember one time we were returning to Brisbane from donation surgery in North Queensland, just as the sun was rising on Christmas morning. We talk about donation as the gift of life. On that morning it was impossible not to feel emotional because I knew we had delivered the best Christmas present anyone could ask for to the waiting recipients.”

NEED TO KNOW

• It takes less than a minute to join the Australian Organ Donor Register at donatelife.gov.au – all you need is your Medicare card number.
• Families almost always say yes to organ donation when their loved one had previously registered and they knew what they wanted. That’s why it’s so important to register on the Australian Organ Donor Register. 
• Since 2009, more than 11,000 Australians have had their lives saved as a result of an organ transplant. 
• There are around 1,400 Australians currently on the wait list for a life-saving transplant, and a further 11,000 people on dialysis. 
• Not everyone can be a organ donor. To be an organ donor, people must die in hospital. Of those who die in hospital, only 2-3 per cent die in circumstances where it is feasible for them to donate organs. 

CREDITS

• Feature image: Francesca from DonateLife Queensland works around the clock to organise organ retrieval from all over Queensland.

• Brisbane Airport's connection to our community runs deep. Find out how deep and read more BNE stories.