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About Us Hero777 aims to increase awareness about organ and tissue donation in South Africa. Our aim is to use all avenues open to us to raise awareness. These include but are not limited to social media, print media, radio or television, events and campaigns. Find out more… |
Click Here to Find Out How To Become an Organ & Tissue Donor
Becoming an organ donor once you have made the decision is simply 3 steps:
- TALK to your family and tell them of your decision.
- REGISTER as an Organ Donor on the Organ Donor Foundation website www.odf.org.za (click here ) OR contact them on their toll free number during office hours: 0800226611
- SHARE your decision with all your family and friends and start the conversation about organ donation. Help us spread the word and save lives.
The Gift of Life – by John Moffatt
This is a story about Matt who’s here today by the grace of God and the compassion of a family he’ll never know. My son had a heart transplant nearly 17 years ago. He never talks about it so I will tell my part of it. In the July school holidays in 2001 Matt went...
A corneal transplant changed my life – by Amy Lagesse
In 2003, I was 15 years old and diagnosed with Keratoconous* in both my eyes. I had suffered with this condition and vision challenges since High School and in the last couple of years unfortunately, the condition has advanced significantly resulting in very poor...
A simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant (spk) saved my life – Nolundi Luthuli
My life before being diagnosed with kidney disease was filled with many challenges and often with sudden bouts of illness brought on by my erratic sugar levels which led to me being hospitalised often. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 and after...
Jarryd’s Story | Liver Transplant Recipient
In 2005 at 13 months of age, Jarryd received his Gift of Life, a liver transplant, at the Red Cross Children’s hospital. He was just a couple of weeks away from death. This was our reality, when our miracle happened. Now, at 14 years’ old, he is a...
Our Journey to Transplantation – Veronica Moodley
Our story starts not very differently from most other couples you'll meet. Boy meets girl, they talk forever and about everything under the sun, he proposes, and eventually they marry and have kids. Though we did meet online, that's our twist! Actually our story has...
Julie Anthony – My Kidney Journey
After finding out I was in kidney failure 6 years ago I embarked on a quest to find out as much as possible about the kidneys, as I didn’t feel ill nor did I have any symptoms accompanied with kidney failure. I sought the opinion of many doctors all telling me...
Lloyd John Towers – A Hero in More Ways Then One
Our son, Lloyd, was born on the 5 February 1993, by caesarian section, at the Glynnwood Nursing Home, Benoni. He was our second child, a brother to his sister Kelly who was two years older. Perhaps the earliest indication that something was amiss was that he didn’t...
Hans’s Story
Written by Yolandi Du Plessis My Dad was born with an extremely rare lung disease called "Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency (A1AD or AATD)". This is a genetic disorder which he was unfortunately only diagnosed with at the age of 36. After his diagnosis, he took the...
Where to Now?
It was only since we entered the New Year that our visits have become twice weekly to Busamed Gateway Private Hospital for regular check-ups post-transplant. Matthew is being given a little more freedom too, as long as he is careful and keeps away from anyone who may...
LISTEN : Hero777 SABC Interview with Matthew
We were interviewed again for the SABC radio stations. This time post Matthew's heart and double lung Transplant. Play the audio file below:
Time for Checkups Post Transplant
Matthew came home from the hospital on a Wednesday, so Wednesday became “check-up day”. With the first week at home being a “no go zone” for visitors, the first trip back to the hospital was Matthew’s first excursion post transplant, and he loved the idea of seeing...
Along the Road to Recovery
As we approached 3 months post transplant for Matthew, I opened Facebook recently to be reminded of this post that I had written a year ago: “When I opened my eyes this morning, I just knew that today was going to be a battle and that I needed to win it. A battle not...
Matthew’s Transplant T+23 – Going Home.
We arrived at the hospital raring to take Matthew home. However, we knew that it always took a while to get out of hospital. We also knew that it was planned for Matthew to leave around 10:00 am. This was to coordinate doctors to be available to see him off. We...
Matthew’s Transplant Story day T+20 to T+22
Over the next couple of days we watched Matthew getting stronger day by day. We sat with him for many hours talking (from the glass door) about past experiences and what was to come post-operation. I had contacted Matthew’s previous cardiologist, Dr Kenny, and...
Matthew’s Transplant Story Day T+17– T+19
Matthew’s Transplant Story Day T+17 We arrived at Busamed Gateway Private Hospital that morning knowing that Matthew was going to theatre to have two (2) chest drains inserted. The CT scan the day before had shown fluid in the chest cavity and these drains were...
Matthew’s Transplant T+ 13, 14, 15 & 16
Matthew’s Transplant T + 13 As Brian and I drove into the hospital grounds, the sun was just coming up in a bright new dawn. We greeted the security guards at the entrance and we realised that we were now following a pattern each day. Those early morning drives to...
Matthew’s Transplant T+ 9, 10, 11 & 12
Matthew’s Transplant T+ 9 It was amazing how things can change so quickly with a patient when they are in ICU – positively or negatively. Our day started off really well with Matthew but it was to become a day of ups and downs for him. On top...
We are half way there to my initial goal!
As of July 2018 we had registered 25276 new organ and tissue donors as a result of our awareness campaigns through Hero777 and Matthew’s Journey – come along for the drive. All of these people who have registered are Heroes for wanting to impact positively on others...
Matthew’s Transplant T + 7 and 8
Matthew’s transplant T +7 By T+ 7 Matthew was doing well, but we were almost too scared to be happy – we worried that the “next bump out there” might cause a serious setback. Matthew, on the other hand, was talking up a storm - asking for...
Matthew’s Transplant Story T+4 and 5 + 6
Matthew’s transplant T + 4 It is incredible to think that 50 years ago, a surgeon with a huge desire to help someone, a donor and a recipient and every person involved, made history and as a consequence many, many people’s lives have been saved. As we sat...
Matthew’s Transplant Story T+3
It felt like the dark thunder clouds which threatened lightning and hail for the last thirty six hours had begun to lift and we saw sunlight peeking through the clouds. As usual Day T+3 started early and we walked into the Surgical ICU with a sense of...
Matthew’s Transplant Story T+2
If you haven’t already, you can read about the previous day's here… Transplant day +1 finished for us around midnight again. We were emotionally and physically exhausted – how could we get so tired when we had hardly moved all day? Matthew had to some degree “turned...
Matthew’s Transplant Story T+1 – Janet & Brian Legemaate
If you haven't already, you can read part 1 & 2 here... Day T-0 ended way past midnight. The day had been “surreal” - a word that we began to use a lot. Before this day we talked about organ donation all the time – and glibly spoke about Matthew’s need for a...
Matthew’s Transplant – T 0 (Transplant day) – Janet Legemaate
If you haven't already, you can read part 1 here... We arrived at Busamed Gateway Private Hospital at 5:30 am on Transplant Day, filled with trepidation. We felt excitement at the fact that this was finally Matthew’s second chance, but also a lot of sadness for...
Matthew’s Transplant : T – 1
My mom and I would not be able to tell my transplant story if a donor family had not made the difficult decision to donate their loved ones organs. This decision has given me the “Gift of Life”. It has also given me the chance to go after my...
Making a World of Difference
You are most probably aware of the Starfish Story with all its variations. The basic story is about a girl on a beach that is strewn with starfishes that washed up during high tide. The tide has receded and being out of the water, they will certainly...
Matthew Receives His Heart & Double Lung Transplant
Matthew and his mother, Janet, began the Matthew’s Journey and the Hero777 Facebook pages when the family realised the critical need for people to register and talk with their family about being an organ and tissue donor. The exact numbers are not clear but...
Organ & Tissue Donation : A Fathers Perspective
Not many parents talk to their children about death. It’s even more tough having the conversation about your child’s potential death. Matthew and I have talked about the reality that he may not survive the transplant operation; given a second...
Brogan’s Story
My name is Brogan and I am 18. As a young child I was often sick. Whatever was going around I would catch it - endless ear infections and one dose of ’flu after the next. When I was five, I went through episodes of unexplained unconsciousness. I would be unconscious...
KZN teenager pushes for organ donor awareness as he waits years for his own heart and lung transplant.
"Matthew Legemaate is an incredibly inspirational 19 year old who’s motto is B positive. He firmly believes that God has a plan for his life and he is also well aware that the positive experiences he has had, have been a gift to him." Click here to continue...
Hero777 aims to increase awareness about organ and tissue donation in South Africa. Our aim is to use all avenues open to us to raise awareness. These include but are not limited to social media, print media, radio or television, events and campaigns. Find out more…
Click Here to Find Out How To Become an Organ & Tissue Donor
Becoming an organ donor once you have made the decision is simply 3 steps:
- TALK to your family and tell them of your decision.
- REGISTER as an Organ Donor on the Organ Donor Foundation website www.odf.org.za (click here ) OR contact them on their toll free number during office hours: 0800226611
- SHARE your decision with all your family and friends and start the conversation about organ donation. Help us spread the word and save lives.
Being a related kidney transplant recipient – This is Chris’s story
Some of my earliest memories revolve around hospitals and doctors, since they have always been an integral part of my life. Without a miraculous intervention by doctors when I was about 10 months old, a viral infection might have killed me. From that time on, I...
Being a related living donor by Heidi Taylor
I cannot remember a time when my brother was well. That is, not until he received my kidney 30 years ago. I was born in 1964, and Christopher was born in 1967. We have no other siblings. When Chris was 8 months old, and I was just turning three, he contracted a...
A heart of a Stranger – by Sanjay Maharaj
Growing up, medical aid and visits to doctors was not part of our family budget. We were nursed at home, by mum or grandma with traditional medicines. It worked and we lived healthy lives. In mid 2007 I was doing my last delivery of the day in the area I live, I run...
Life as we know it came to a complete standstill! by Annatjie Nel
Life as we know it came to a complete standstill in June 2018 when our oldest daughter, Tanya was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. We are a close family living in a log cabin build by my husband’s great grandfather. We live at Tugela Beach on the KZN North...
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