Three years ago, Gail Laycock lost her adored husband Darren ‘Muddy’ Laycock, a week before his 56th birthday.
Darren was a motor mechanic and a ‘dinky-di bloke’ who loved football, speedway racing, camping, and fishing.
His nickname ‘Muddy’ came from his habit of coming off the football grounds with mud on him – even on a dry day.
In 2023, Darren collapsed at home due to a rare brain condition called an arteriovenous malformation, and never regained consciousness.
He was a registered organ donor, something his family and wife Gail say reflected his loveable, kind and generous personality.
Through organ and tissue donation, Darren's legacy lives on.
His gift transformed the lives of four people – two received life-changing kidney transplants, allowing them to come off dialysis, while two others had their sight restored through corneal donation.
“I received a card, and they had said they were an avid reader and had a big library…and they were forever grateful that they could go back to their library,” Gail says.
“To know that Darren was still giving after he passed, as he did when he was alive, it’s something pretty special.”
Gail recalls the care and support she received from the team in the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s (RMH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU), describing it as like “being wrapped up in cotton wool”.
Ryan Simpson, a Donation Specialist Nursing Coordinator at the RMH, supported Gail through the early conversations of organ donation and end-of-life care.
As part of the RMH Organ and Tissue Donation team, Ryan supports families through every step of their journey - from donor assessment to ongoing bereavement care.
For Ryan and colleague Michael Jay, it’s the “extraordinary generosity of donor families” that continues to motivate them.
“Despite immense grief, those families think of others and choose to give the gift of life,” Michael, a Donation Specialist Nurse Coordinator, says
“It takes a whole village to make donation possible, and we are proud to be part of that journey during DonateLife Week and every week.”
In 2025, 50 generous families selflessly agreed to organ and tissue donation, resulting in 86 people receiving a life-saving organ transplant at the RMH.
Gail knows just how hard – but vital – that decision is.
Three years on, she continues to advocate and raise awareness for organ donation and the impact it can have.
“Now I urge people like there’s no tomorrow to register and talk to your family,” she says.
“The fact that he was an organ donor has brought comfort to me, his mum, and our family.”
This DonateLife Week, the RMH is paying tribute to Darren, Gail and their family, and all organ and tissue donors and their families, who choose to give the gift of life.
“We had 21 beautiful years together, and our love story was just like Carrie and Big [from TV show Sex and the City],” Gail says.
“Knowing how his gift would change lives made our worst day a bit better. It’s comforting now.”
The RMH is proud to be the highest donor centre in Victoria, providing an opportunity for hope and meaning during an incredibly difficult time.
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