Australian 'Donate Life' Week

Many of you may recall that last August, the Little Yellow Duck Project launched in a rather spectacular way in South Africa. Throughout August 2014, South African members of the knitting website 'Ravelry' battled to get as many little yellow ducks as possible across the country and members from the north and south of the country even ran a competition to see who could get the most ducks on our world map!This August it's the turn of Australia to take on the challenge! This week is 'Donate Life' week in Australia and so our wonderful Aussie LYDP team has decided to use the whole month to get as many yellow ducks as possible across their country.  I am so grateful to Katherine and her team for making this possible, and to the Donate Life team for getting involved too and promoting little yellow ducks as a symbol  to encourage people to discuss their wishes regarding organ donation. The Australian Government OTA is also advertising the campaign HERE.There are a couple of special requests for those making ducks in Australia this month:1. On the back of the normal tags, please write ‪#‎havethechat‬.

2. So we can trace them on the map, please name them Austen (or [chosen name] Austen).  Austen is a unisex name that means “dignified” (like the gift of life), has the same origin as the month’s name August, and shares four letters with Australia.You can read the incredible story of how an organ transplant saved the life of Australian LYDP supporter, Kate Rootsey on our website home page here.  Kate's life was saved because an incredible family said 'yes' to allowing their loved one's organs to save lives after their death.  Very few people ever die in circumstances in which they could be a potential donor, so it is vital that those who would want to save lives in this way ensure their family know of their wishes.If you haven't already made your family aware of your wish to be an organ donor, please follow the message of this year's Australian Donate Life Week and #havethechat.