Debi & Tracey

Meet Tracey Dunsire, mom to double transplant recipient Geoff, and Debi Pearce, his living kidney donor. When Geoff was 13 he was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. He lived with the disease until the age of 25 when he was admitted to hospital with end stage liver failure. He slipped into a coma and was on life support but recovered thanks to a liver transplant from a deceased donor. Despite numerous health challenges including an infection that led to an acquired brain injury, and loss of kidney function and subsequent dialysis, Geoff and his family persevered. When told his medical condition was too complex for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, the family decided to launch a public appeal to find a living donor. Debi Pearce saw the family's story and thought "Someone has to help them" and then realized she could be the one. She called the transplant centre and started the assessment process but was not sure how she was going to tell her 87 year old mother.  She needn't have worried, her mom gave her blessing and told Debi she would do the same thing. Since the surgery, Geoff has blossomed. His energy and sense of humour have returned. He is walking, driving, going to the gym twice a week, looking to get back into the workforce and continuing to inspire everyone around him. Says Debi: "I've gotten to know this young man..[the donation] was a gift to me as well.

"Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things. Whether it's stepping forward as a living donor, registering as a deceased donor, donating blood or spreading awareness...YOU are capable of taking a brave action. You can not only change a life...you can save a life.