A County Durham two-year-old who successfully found a donor for a heart transplant has helped inspire a new image advert campaign to raise awareness of the ‘gift of life’ offered by organ donation.
Beatrix Archbold, who finally received a heart after spending a year in hospital, has helped inspire photographer Debbie Todd to capture images of 17 children awaiting transplants for a billboard campaign.
The campaign called 'The call' explores the subject of organ donation through both the children waiting and children who are post-transplant and not forgetting the ones who never got the call.
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As part of the new campaign, Debbie's exhibition launched in Sunderland earlier this month, before it takes a regional and national tour across key venues to raise awareness of organ donation.
There are more than 200 children currently on the transplant list and ‘The Call’ has been created to plant a seed of thought and open conversations about organ donation and encourage members of the public to have the conversation about this hot topic as the team supports families waiting for ‘The Call’.
Within the exhibition, Chloe Green's daughter Evie (4), from Middlesbrough, who has spent 200 days waiting for a new heart and living in The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle features.
Debbie Todd said: “This project was born out of a meeting with Beatrix who was waiting in the hospital for a donor heart.
"She opened my eyes to things I had never imagined, and I felt the need to inform others about organ donation in children.
"Meeting all of the children who participated has really been an eye-opener.
"Every child’s story and family situation is different, and the thing that most impacted me was the trauma for the family and wider community.
"All of the things that they have witnessed, the families they have met and the opportunities they have missed, as simple as sleeping in your own bed or walking on the beach, have made me realise how important it is to normalise discussion that could change a child's future.”
After the launch of the campaign, Beatrix's dad Terry Archbald has spoken about how he hopes 'The Call' will bring transplants for other waiting children.
He said: “Organ Donation, particularly in children has historically been an unspoken, taboo subject. Across the UK over 240 children wait for a life-saving transplant, they wait for years, living in hospital for the gift of life, for a chance at life.
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"For too many that gift does not arrive in time.
'The Call' is a fantastic, taboo-shattering project that highlights the plight of those waiting. It sets seeds of thought about organ donation that could ripple outwards to save many lives.
"It is great to see how the project, which started with photos of Beatrix, my little girl, has, with the support of Red Sky Foundation developed onto the international stage. Huge appreciation to Debbie for having the courage to step up and break down barriers.”
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