Donor Family Quilt

The Australian Donor Family Quilt is off to a wonderful start with 59 patches honouring loved ones now with Transplant Australia. The Quilt, supported by funding from the Organ and Tissue Authority, was unveiled at the Australian Transplant Games in October.

Donor families attended both the opening of the games and the unveiling. Quilters from the Queenbee Quilters in Sydney's north helped prepare the which actually ended up being three quilts containing space for 20 patches each.

All donor families, whether they are involved in Transplant Australia or not, are welcome to contribute to what we are hoping will become an ever-growing tribute to the wonderful gift of organ and tissue donation.

The rationale behind a quilt is simple: it allows a number of individual stories to be told while collectively it is a wonderful symbol for the gift of donation in that quilts are seen as warm and embracing.

Three donor family mums, Nerida Morellini from Adelaide, Marguerite Wiseman from Canberra and Majella Gillett from Brisbane, have already agreed to help co-ordinate the creation of the quilt and if anyone from other states would like to put their hand up please contact us.

So what can you do to honour your loved one?

Here’s some suggestions and details of the patches we hope you will send in to make the quilt a reality:

1 . Visit http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/donorFamilies/quilt.cfm to view the patches made for the National Donor Family Quilt in the US. There are hundreds of inspirations on this site.

2. Talk to you family members and friends and get some consensus on the design of your patch. What reminds everyone of him or her? It might be his favourite footy jumper, a dress she wore at her christening or wedding, a favourite photo or his fishing jacket?

3. You can place poems, pictures, symbols, virtually anything on your patch. But please make sure it is fastened correctly as the quilt will travel and be a permanent tribute to your loved one.

4. You can use almost any fabric, colour or type, paint (please no water colours), permanent markers or threads. Photos must be laminated or they can be transferred to fabric at a local photo shop.

4. Your patch should be 10inches (25.4cms) square and the design should fit inside nine inches (22.9cm) square.

5. Do not finish the patch with quilting or backing.

What else can I include?

We would love a photograph and 100 words describing your patch and loved one together with a completed Quilt form below. Please write your loved one's name on the back of the photograph.

Donor Family Quilt Form

Please send your patch safely by post to:

Transplant Australia
PO Box 592
North Sydney
NSW 2059

Please include your email address so that we can confirm its safe arrival.

What’s next?

Please encourage any other donor families you know to join in this wonderful project.

Further information

Contact one of our co-ordinators:

Julie Edwards (Membership Manager Transplant Australia) (02) 99225400 or mailto:julie.edwards@transplant.org.au

Nerida Morellini (South Australia) – (08) 83862425 or bernardm@ozemail.com.au

Marguerite Wiseman (ACT and NSW) – (02) 6291-6641) or lmwiseman@netspeed.com.au