Geraldton’s Donor Awareness Fountain commemorates 10 years of honouring organ and tissue donors

An event will be held this Friday to celebrate 10 years since the Donor Awareness Fountain at Midalia’s Beach was built. The distinct fountain, with its granite orb, was inaugurated in December 2012 to honour organ and tissue donors, and to raise awareness of the important decision people can make. The monument was organised by the McDowell family, who lost their 19-year-old daughter Alysha in a car crash in 2008. Donor Families Australia chair Bruce McDowell will deliver a speech to thank the community for their support. “It is good to have milestones, and 10 years is definitely a milestone,” he said. “I’m really excited to catch up with some of the people we mixed with 10 years and helped us 10 years ago, and also meet new people in Geraldton and the Mid West who would like to show their support for organ and tissue donation.” Organ and tissue rates donation and transplantation has dropped by 25 per cent, according to the government, a trend Mr McDowell wants to reverse. “The organ and tissue donation rate around Australia and WA has been going down for about the last three years, that’s a really sad thing, so part of what I am doing is promoting organ donation and promote having that conversation,” he said. “We want to turn that trend around, let’s start in Geraldton.” The event will be held at the fountain at 1pm on Friday.