Jenna Lowe is 19 years old and she’s in need of new lungs. In order for her to make it to her 21st birthday, an initiative called Get Me To 21 has been put together, inviting you (yes, you!) to her birthday party – all you have to do to attend is sign up to be an organ donor. We had a Q&A with her about the Get To Me 21 campaign, what she hopes it will achieve and everything you need to know about becoming an organ donor – for more info and to sign up, visit the website.
GLAMOUR: How did the idea for Get Me To 21 come about?
Jenna: It was an idea by a Cape Town agency, Lowe and Partners SA, who do a lot of pro-bono work for the organ donor foundation. They approached me, and then together we created something that was representative of me and my struggle but would spearhead a drive for organ donation. We wanted the campaign to be accessible and make sense to young people – the idea of a birthday party is positive and about celebrating life rather than about death.
GLAMOUR: What’s the goal of the Get Me To 21 campaign?
Jenna: To get as many new organ donors to sign up in South Africa as possible – my goal is 50 000, if not more – by October 2015. This will make a difference to hopefully my own chances of survival but also the lives of the 4 500 people in South Africa awaiting transplants. I’d also like the topic of organ donation to be one that everyone talks about, is aware of and considers an option for themselves and their families.
GLAMOUR: What do you want everyone to know about organ donation?
Jenna: One person’s organs can save 7 lives! It’s easy and quick to sign up, completely free and doesn’t require any medical testing. It’s amazing how few people know these simple and important facts – and it explains why less than 0.2% of our population are organ donors, which is one of the lowest rates in the world. People need to be educated about and made aware of organ donation to greatly improve these statistics. There should be government buy-in, funding for media and marketing, training for more transplant co-coordinators, and consideration of the opt-out system rather than the opt-in system for sign-ups.
GLAMOUR: Could you tell us a bit about the response that the campaign’s received so far?
Jenna: We have had the most incredible response. There’s been some really excellent and in-depth media coverage and more than 6 000 new sign-ups in three weeks – it seems to grow by about 200 new organ donors a day at the moment and yes, people are aware and talking about it; with loads more media coverage to come. I’m doing a lot of interviews (all telephonic as I can no longer leave the house and I’m pretty much housebound whilst I wait) on radio and television, and it’s given me so much joy to receive grateful messages of support from others awaiting transplant.
GLAMOUR: Once we’ve signed up as organ donors, how else do we help?
Jenna: One – talk about it and get everyone you know to sign up. Two – join my Facebook event page, Jen’s 21st, and help plan the party and three: make sure your family know your wishes.
