Peter Jackson helps take organ donor plea to the world 05 April 2005 By HALEY LYNCH
With the help of film maker Peter Jackson and a teenage cancer sufferer, a North Shore man's message about organ donation will reach 30 million people.
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has included in his Return of the King special edition DVD a promotional advertisement which encourages people to become organ donors. Mr Jackson's involvement in the commercial came from his support for Mairangi Bay man Andy Tookey's GiveLife campaign. Mr Tookey formed GiveLife to raise awareness of organ donation after discovering his newborn daughter Katie had a rare liver disease called biliary atresia. Katie, who is now three-and-a-half, will one day need a liver transplant. "Peter offered his facilities to film the ad. He also suggested I ask a very talented young filmmaker to direct it. Sixteen-year-old Cameron Duncan." The trio came together to work out the details, and Cameron rewrote the script. Cancer-sufferer Cameron, finished filming and editing the powerful organ donation advertisement. It won the Fair Go ad award in 2003, just months before Cameron died of bone cancer aged 17. Mr Tookey says the DVD is expected to sell around 30 million copies worldwide. He was overwhelmed when he discovered the ad was going to be included on the DVD. "I am grateful for the support Peter and Fran have given us and am pleased that the talents of Cameron have been immortalised and will not be forgotten". Mr Tookey and his family have been to Lord of the Rings premieres and parties. He says New Zealand has one of the lowest numbers of organ donors in the western world. Parliament is due to review laws surrounding organ donation later this year. GiveLife will present a petition calling for donor's rights to be respected. Details of the petition can be found at www.givelife.org.nz.
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