Kiddipedia
Rupesh and Mili Udani from Western Sydney were shattered with the sudden loss of their beautiful boy, Deyaan in 2016. They were on a family holiday to India when Deyaan, only seven years old, suffered an unexpected brain haemorrhage. It was the day they were due to fly home to Australia.
Rupesh and Mili couldn’t believe it when the doctors told them Deyaan was brain dead and would not survive. In that unimaginable moment, Rupesh and Mili recalled a conversation they’d had with Deyaan only a few months prior.
Deyaan and his older sister, Naisha had come home from school one day after learning about organ and tissue donation. They both understood that they could give life to someone else after they were gone, and Deyaan told his parents that he wanted to become an organ donor one day to save others.
When the time came to make a decision about donating Deyaan’s organs, Rupesh and Mili knew that there was one last thing that they could do for him. Their decision to honour Deyaan’s wish saved four lives.
“Who was to know that months later we would be faced with the decision of whether to donate Deyaan’s organs. It was our worst nightmare. But when the time came to make the decision, we knew that this was something Deyaan wanted. A tragedy took Deyaan from us but if our circumstances were different and Deyaan required a life-saving transplant, we would do anything we could to make it happen,” said Deyaan’s father, Rupesh.
Deyaan was kind-hearted and always willing to help others. It has brought comfort to the Udani’s, knowing that Deyaan lives on in some way.
“Deyaan has given four people a new opportunity to live, and we are very proud of him. If we hadn’t have discussed organ donation that day, we would not have known Deyaan’s wish,” said Rupesh.
Three years ago, Mili and Rupesh decided to create Saffron Day, in memory of Deyaan and to raise awareness for organ and tissue donation in Australia. Saffron symbolises courage and strength, qualities seen in little Deyaan. Orange was also Deyaan’s favourite colour.
A pinch of Saffron goes a long way, as does the generous gift of organ donation.
Saffron Day is all about encouraging people to wear orange to school or work and to have the conversation about organ donation with their families, like Deyaan did.
In Australia, there are 1,700 people waiting for a life-saving transplant and a further 12,000 people on dialysis. Organ donation is rare, with only about 2% of people who die in hospital eligible to donate their organs. This is why registering on the Australian Organ Donor Register, and informing your family of your decision is so important.
Despite the majority of Australians saying they support organ donation, only 1 in 3 are registered. Registration is quick and easy at donatelife.gov.au. In NSW, you can no longer register to be an organ donor via your driver’s licence.
The Udani’s encourage people to get involved in Saffron Day by wearing orange on Thursday 22 October, sharing their photos on social media with the hashtags #SaffronDay and #doitforDeeyan, and of course registering to be a donor at donatelife.gov.au/saffronday.
To learn more about Deyaan’s story, visit saffronday.org.
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