The 'Gifts of Life' photography project

We've written before about the wonderful Sarah Milne, photographer and Mum of William who received a life saving small bowel transplant last year and is now enjoying his gift to the full. In a new project designed to capture what receiving the "Gift of Life" means, Sarah will be photographing and exhibiting people either waiting for transplant or have received their life-changing gift.

Sarah is teaming up with the equally wonderful Holly Cocker, another photographer who recieved her gift of a kidney from best friend Oli. Holly was diagnosed with ESRF (end stage renal failure) in 2003, and waited five long years on the transplant list for a new kidney before Oli came forward and in a pure act of selflessness donated his kidney to her in October 2008. In recognition of the way in which Oli's gift has changed her life Holly will also be doing a series of portraits of live donors and their recepients to capture the extraordinary relationship and strong bond that exists between them.

We are extremely proud to be a part of this exhibition, which will be used to raise awareness of organ donation. Both Holly and Sarah's photos will be exhibited at the Menier Chocolate Factory Gallery from the 14th - 19th December, with exciting plans for more exhibitions across the country.

Both Holly and Sarah would love to hear from anyone who can help them with this project, especially

• Volunteers who have had a transplant, or anyone who is waiting for a transplant, and are willing to be photographed
• Suggestions and help in promoting the project far and wide
  
• Volunteers to organize an exhibition in their area or can help out with the project in other ways (for example, help with printing, framing, PR)
  
• Help with fundraising and sponsorship to cover costs
  
• Any other suggestions you might have, for example venues that might be suitable to exhibit the photos.

Pop on over to the project website now for further information, galleries, the stories behind the photos or to get in touch with Sarah and Holly, and over to the blog for the latest as the project unfolds

We can't wait to see the results!

LLTGL continues to spread the word

As many of you know, we love being invited to talk about organ donation to all kinds of people, from medical professionals to workplaces, schools, community groups and just about anyone else you can think of.

We therefore jumped on the chance to talk to students atWarwickshire college earlier this month, who invited Oli to share his experiences as a double-lung recipient as part of their BTEC National Health and Social Care course.

We were really impressed with the students' presentation about why signing the organ donor register and telling your family of your wishes is so important. Local MP James Plaskitt was in attendance too, and took away lots of information to spread the message even further in the local community.

LLTGL are always happy to help anyone who wants to spread the message about organ donation, so why not get in touch with your ideas?

Thank you Charlotte and Chris!

A big shout out and thank you to Charlotte and Chris, who ran the Bath Half Marathon for us last month. They have now flown past their target of £600 and have raised £967 for LLTGL.

The pair found the training tough but Charlotte actually says she may carry on running after the event so has clearly been bitten by the running bug!

Are you doing a fundraising event for us? Don't forget to let us know so we can shout about it.

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It's quackers how much you could help us raise...

Last year LLTGL entered the Great British Duck Race for the first time, hundreds of you thought this was a jolly good idea and purchased ducks to support us. OK so the possibility of winning £10,000 if your duck crosses the line first is probably a good motivator too!

The ducks are now up for grabs, and yet again we are a receiving Charity. The organisers are doing it slightly differently this year so to ensure that we receive the donation from your duck please click on this link: http://www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk/o/lltgl

You can buy a duck for just £3, one whole pound of which comes straight to LLTGL! Plus your duck is then a member of the world's biggest Duck race and should it cross the line first could win you a staggering £10,000!

Surely no better reason to purchase a rubber ducky or five...

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Exciting news and more exciting news!

What a week we've had!



First piece of exciting news: Gorgeous little Ethan Collins has received his transplant! It's very early days but so far so good. If you would like to leave a message for the family, you can do so here on his facebook group. The brave family who somewhere out there are suffering huge loss are in our thoughts, and we hope very much that they are somewhat comforted by the knowledge that they have just saved this little boy's life.


Second very exciting thing that has been happening: our star advocate Holly Shaw held her Donor Day on Tuesday 7th April.


It was a phenomenal success, gaining celebrity support, attracting National Media attention, TV, radio and newspaper interviews, and even resulting in a phonecall from number 10 to offer congratulations and a statement of support! That day, the number of online sign ups increased by a massive 15 times the norm. That's a phenomenal achievement!


We are hugely proud of Holly and her incredible work; this 21 year old lady started her campaign whilst she was still recovering from major surgery, and has invested huge amounts of time and energy into raising awareness to help others. Holly; we couldn't be prouder of you, congratulations on a hugely successful day and a great big well done!

Be a hero: Put the kettle on.

On Tuesday 7th April, our Advocate Holly Shaw is holding her Donor Day. Could you help? Check out her eflyer below.

Well done Tom and new Welsh Campaign.

A massive congrats from all of us at LLTGL goes to Tom Richardson, who on 22nd March ran the Tokyo Marathon to raise money for LLTGL.

His hard work in both training and fundraising paid of as he completed the race in a fantastic 4 hours and 31 minutes, raising over £700 so far for us. There is still time to sponsor Tom by going to his Justgiving fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/trichardson Are you doing a sponsored event for LLTGL? Let us know so we can blog about it!

Donate Wales recently released a new element to their awareness campaign for Organ Donation. The hard hitting TV advert calls for viewers to "Save Sian." You can view the advert by clicking here; what are your thoughts? We'd love to hear what you think of it.

Lastly, our fabulous Advocate Holly Shaw is approaching her big donor day, which she is holding on April 7th. Holly will be in London on the day itself hosting a Donor Desk - are you able to hold one to support her and get people signed up? Click here to find out more.

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