Simon's Story

"In 2013, my fiancée Kathrin passed away suddenly due to what’s known as a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage."

It was at that time that the neurological team in the intensive care unit (ICU), who I was dealing with, realised she was a perfect candidate for organ donation and they asked whether she would be okay with that, or if she would have been okay with that.

I wasn’t 100% sure, as it was not really a subject we’d discussed, but she had mentioned something about it. So I contacted her brother who I’d been speaking to, and he confirmed that yes, she was definitely a donor.

Several hours later the Organ Donation NZ Co-ordinators, Maree Hulton and Lauren Sprenger turned up and there was a very easy process that we went through. I was just all over the place in terms of being still traumatised and in shock, and I was just running on adrenalin. But they knew this and it was very easy to work with them and work through all the paperwork.

Well I guess that Kathrin would be happy too, to know that her life hadn’t been a waste and that her death wasn’t in vain and that something good came out of it. It’s the only good thing in that sort of situation, I think, to know that other people have got a chance at life.

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Simons story video transcript
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Questions & Answers

Do you still have questions, or need answers?

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I was thinking and praying for the donor family, realising the shock and overwhelming grief they would be experiencing, trying to somehow deal with this traumatic loss of their precious loved one.

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