In December 2019, Stephanie's life changed forever. She was visiting Whakaari/White Island Volcano in New Zealand with her family when it erupted unexpectedly.
Stephanie suffered burns to over 70% of her body and tragically lost both her father and sister in the disaster. As a result Stephanie received life saving skin donations from around 10 donors to act as a biological dressing.
Recently, Stephanie visited AAMI Park to share her powerful story with the Storm squad and staff, offering an emotional and personal perspective on the importance of organ and tissue donation.
"Just like Steph's story, it can happen in an instant and you never know, when it might happen or where it might happen," explained Nick Meaney Storm Centre.
Stephanie's visit was part our partnership with DonateLife, the national program aimed at increasing organ and tissue donation in Australia.
Melbourne Storm has proudly partnered with DonateLife since 2019, helping to spread the life-saving message to thousands of fans.
"It's such an important thing, DonateLife and what they do for us. Being an organ donor goes such a long way for, for families, in hard times," said Meaney.
As part of this ongoing collaboration, Alana from DonateLife also met with the team, providing players with signature pink DonateLife beanies to wear to help raise awareness.
Every registered organ donor has the potential to save up to seven lives and transform many more through tissue donation.
Right now, there are around 1,800 Australians waiting for a life-saving transplant, and another 14,000 people on dialysis, many of whom could benefit from a kidney transplant.
While four in five Australians support organ and tissue donation, only around one in three (36%) are actually registered.
