Mum of ACT's first organ donor speaks 40 years after daughter dies

In 1975, Marjorie Taylor fought for the donation of her 11-year-old daughter Annette's kidneys after the young girl had a cerebral haemorrhage and died suddenly.

"She had made the request about six months before and we had no idea that she was going to fall seriously ill and pass away," Mrs Taylor said.

At the time, there was no legislation to help fulfil her daughter's wishes.

"It was going to be the last thing that I could do for Annette, so I just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer," Mrs Taylor said.

When Mrs Taylor threatened to call prime minister Gough Whitlam, who coincidentally happened to be her boss, doctors soon listened and granted her request.

"It was rewarding to think Annette wasn't dying in vain – that she helped two other people have a better life and also saved two families from going through what I was going through," she said.

A front page Canberra Times story, days after Annette's death, said the young girl had "a rare sensitivity to the needs of other people".

Sitting in the kitchen reading a newspaper article about a kidney transplant months before she died, Annette said she would like her organs donated if something happened to her.

Annette's sensitivity had perhaps been sharpened by the fact that her father, Reg, had for most of her life been a paraplegic and the young girl could not remember seeing him walk.

On Monday, territory Health Minister Simon Corbell paid tribute to Annette and her family.

"The key message of DonateLife week is to urge people in the community to register as donors," he said.

"If we want to help others receive the gift of life, we must first show the same generosity that Annette Taylor did four decades ago."

In the past six months, DonateLife ACT had exceeded its annual target for the number of people registering as a potential donors but more were needed.

Mr Corbell encouraged families to have the conversation with loved ones about organ donation.