Teacher Kerri Argent organised the day to increase awareness and encourage discussion in families about organ donation.
BCS held an assembly with performances by students from the different schools, all focusing on the day’s ‘Do you have a heart?’ theme.
Former BCS student and liver recipient Chris Loundes spoke to the assembly about how organ donation had changed her life.
Ms Loundes said that current organ donation laws put undue pressure on families to make a decision when they were grieving.
“At the moment it’s up to the family (to decide), even if you’re a registered organ donor, they still have to make the final decision. It’s unfair for a family in that position.
“But I think it is amazing that people can give at such a hard time, that they can find the courage to donate a loved one’s organs.”
Visiting state nurse manager for organ and tissue donation Ellie McCann said the Coffs Harbour and Mid North Coast area was a “centre of excellence for organ donation”.
Ms McCann said there were four donors in 2010, two so far this year and a total of 10 in the last “two-and-a-bit” years.
“That equates to 24 donors per million people, which can be compared to the national average of 13 donors per million people,” she said.
“The best way to promote organ donation is through community awareness, with a focus on the schools.
“We find that students tend to communicate really well with their parents about it.”
BCS’s ‘Donatelife’ day also included an art and poetry competition, morning tea and games and activities, and more than 400 specially designed ‘Do you have a heart?’ t-shirts were distributed to students.
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