The Lifesaving List

Mumbrella Probono Campaign of the Year, 2023

Effie Bronze for Positive Change, 2023

Liam O’Brien, a young father of two was diagnosed with a rare form of Blood Cancer in 2022. Like all blood cancer patients his only chance for a cure was a stem cell transplant. But Australia's Stem Cell Register was dying. Stem cell donations had been in constant decline for over a decade. This was largely due to a lack of public awareness around the need for donations and the fact that simple mechanisms to find stem cell matches were not approved in Australia. Specifically, the use of cheek swabs to find potential donors.

To help, we created a grass roots campaign to raise awareness about the state of the Stem Cell Register, encourage an increase in stem cell donations and pressure the government to make changes to how the register is supported. Most importantly, our main objective was to help Liam find a stem cell match to save his life.

In a period of just two months, the campaign had achieved its key objective. A stem cell match was found for Liam, giving him a chance to undergo a stem cell transplant that could save his life. Within just 9 weeks, the number of stem cell donations had almost tripled, resulting in one of the highest stem cell donation rates in Australia's history. Not only was Liam's stem cell donor found from a batch donated during the campaign period, at least four other people who joined the Lifesaving List were called on to be donors.

The impact of the campaign went beyond increasing stem cell donation numbers. It changed Australia’s healthcare system. The campaign gained national attention in press and drove a conversation in parliament, galvanising all State and Federal Health Ministers with a vow to fix the Stem Cell Register, and release vital funding for donor recruitment, including changing legislation to allow the introduction of cheek swab testing.