Jonah Lomu Promotes Organ Donation... In Australia

*****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*****

22 JULY 2007

GIVELIFE NZ

Jonah Lomu Promotes Organ Donation... In Australia

All Blacks great Jonah Lomu has become an ambassador for an Australian campaign encouraging people to become organ donors.

Lomu announced in Sydney on Friday that he had become an ambassador for The Zaidee Rainbow Foundation.

The foundation raises awareness about organ donation, and sells rainbow coloured shoelaces to raise money for the cause.

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, who is also an ambassador for the foundation, on Friday welcomed Lomu to the cause.

New Zealand organ donor campaigner Andy Tookey is disappointed that New Zealand has lost a great opportunity to use Lomu for promoting organ donation on his home ground.

"I am sure Jonah would be happy to back an awareness campaign in New Zealand - if of course the Ministry of Health could be bothered to start one." said Tookey.

"Despite 5 years of campaigning for one and multiple recommendations from Parliaments' Health Select Committee and others, there is still no sign of any public awareness campaign on the horizon. In the meantime many people have died due to organs not being available."

"The Deputy Director of Health, Colin Feek appeared on the Six 'O Clock News some years back saying that maybe he should look at asking people like Jonah Lomu or LOTR Director Peter Jackson to help front an organ donor public awareness campaign. Of course due to bureaucratic inertia nothing has been done since.

The Australian Health Minister, Tony Abbott regularly gets involved with initiatives to promote organ donation. Our Minister of Health is deafeningly silent on the issue most of the time. Maybe that is one reason Australia has ten donors per million of population compared to our six donors per million of population? Said Mr.Tookey.

Teenager Cameron Duncan who died of cancer at age 17 made an award winning Organ Donor TV Commercial for GiveLife NZ just weeks before his death.

"This was offered to the Ministry of Health for no charge, as the Ministry had said they had no money for public awareness.
The Ministry turned down the free offer." Said Tookey.

ENDS