If Michelle Daley hadn’t received a liver transplant 20 years ago, she wouldn’t be here smiling in our ‘Things We Love’ feature today. After sustaining an injury in a freak accident while playing Aussie Rules, Concord West resident Michelle Daley will be heading to Malaga, Spain this month for the World Transplant Games. Donning the green and gold, she’ll be representing Australia in five events across swimming and track. The event unites 2200 athletes from 60 countries for a week of sport and celebration, to promote the benefits of organ and tissue donation around the world. Michelle is gunning for gold and hopes to break all five world records in her events. Last year, she won an astonishing fifteen gold medals for New South Wales at the Australian Transplant Games.
Michelle’s love of sports started at age six, and since then she’s tried her hand at all sports – hockey, soccer, swimming, women’s AFL — you name it. Now working at the Heart Foundation to promote active living, Michelle says she’s lucky she’s been able to fully recover from her injuries thanks to a successful transplant, and she’s happy to have a way of honouring the legacy. “The reason I do compete in the transplant sport is because it’s a source of inspiration for me about promoting organ donation and what life after transplant can look like,” she says. “It’s a good source of motivation for when you don’t feel like turning up to the pool for training on a cold winter’s night.”
Australians can register as an organ donor by joining the Australian Organ Donor Register online at donatelife.gov.au.