On the sports fields of Boondall, jerseys usually mean rugby line-outs and team spirit. For 17-year-old Matthew Larman, the familiar fabric now carries a different weight. As his classmates at Nudgee College pull on their favourite team colours for Jersey Day, Matthew waits quietly for a call that could change his life: the chance of a liver transplant.
The Diagnosis
Matthew was only a child when doctors told him he had primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare disease that scars the bile ducts and slowly damages the liver.
Since then, his life has been marked by hospital stays, medical tests, broken bones, and surgeries. He has learned to balance study and sport with the uncertainty of a disease few people his age have ever heard of.
For years, Matthew kept his diagnosis to himself, not wanting to be defined by his illness. But as the wait for a transplant grew longer, he decided to speak up—not for sympathy, but to encourage others to have a simple, difficult conversation about organ and tissue donation.
He has told his friends that some children with the same condition cannot even leave their hospital beds. His message to his school community is that he still gets to live a mostly normal life, but others need the world to notice them.
A School that Listens
Nudgee College, set in the heart of Boondall, has embraced Matthew’s idea of joining Jersey Day for the first time. Instead of a fundraiser, the day asks people to wear a jersey and talk at home about registering as donors.
Principal Scott Thomson has described Matthew’s efforts as exactly what schools hope to foster—young people ready to make a positive difference. Classmates have also rallied around him, seeing in his story not only resilience but a reason to care about families waiting in hospital wards across Queensland.
Matthew’s push has reached further than the school gates. He shared his story on 4BC radio, telling listeners that organ donation is about trust and community. National organisers of Jersey Day have highlighted Nudgee’s efforts on their platforms, pointing out that one donor can save up to seven lives. For Matthew, the campaign is a chance to make his private struggle matter for someone else’s future.
Boondall’s Call to Action
In Boondall, where the school is a cornerstone of the suburb, Matthew’s campaign has given neighbours a reason to act. Residents are being urged to visit DonateLife and register, but more importantly, to talk with their families.
Statistics show that although one in three Australians say they are willing to donate, only a small percentage actually can, and families often face the hardest decisions without knowing their loved one’s wishes.
For Matthew, the wait continues. He cannot predict when a phone call will tell him a liver is available. But until that moment, he is determined to turn his story into something larger than himself.
