In early 2024, Brian Mansell knew something was wrong with his partner when her headache became so extreme she asked him to call an ambulance. or signup to continue reading Linda had always insisted she would rather have crawled to hospital than call emergency services, Mr Mansell said, so he knew something was amiss - but it didn't make what was to follow any less devastating. "If she could know about what's happened, she'd be extremely happy that what she's left behind saved four people," Mr Mansell said.
Linda had been a registered organ donor, but Mr Mansell said it was not something they had ever discussed. "Linda was a very private person, so she wouldn't tell me anything that I didn't need to know about," he said. "It does help me a little bit now to know that part of Linda's somewhere, so she's still here, in a way.
" Linda's family - her three adult children and her partner, Mr Mansell - was one of 25 Tasmanian families who said yes to organ donation in 2024 which saved the lives of 68 other Australians. The selflessness of Tasmanian families means the state is leading the country with organ and tissue donation outcomes from 2024. After she was admitted to the Launceston General Hospital, brain scans showed that Linda, 65, had experienced a catastrophic aneurysm and it was unlikely she would recover.
Mr Mansell was told Linda could undergo an operation in Hobart that she may not survive, and if she did, it was probable she would be in a vegetative state. A fiercely in.