Aaron Lee (Heart Recipient)

To celebrate 5 years after my own heart transplant, I’m bringing the entire family and taking on the 110km Tour de Brisbane Gran Fondo for a second time since 2024 to raise funds for The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, supporting life-changing organ transplantation research.

Organ transplantation is nothing short of a medical miracle—it offers people like myself a second chance at life. But there’s still so much work to be done. Research is the key to:

• Increasing the number of viable organs available for transplant.

• Reducing rejection rates.

• Minimising post-transplant complications.

Your donation will directly help people whose only hope is a transplant, giving them the chance to overcome serious health challenges and live full, meaningful lives.

Thank you for supporting my efforts with a donation!

Below is my story from the 2024 tour and now… I have TWO beautiful sons since this was written. My boys Oliver and Fletcher, and Wife Emma are my whole world and I’m here with them because of you, my donor. 

In 2020, Aaron Lee was a healthy 27-year-old man with a love of cycling who was excitedly preparing for the birth of his first child. But towards the end of that year, he unexpectedly became unwell.

Aaron went to the Emergency Department of his hospital in Perth with shortness of breath and was later diagnosed with pneumonia.

He promptly began treatment. However, in the weeks that followed, he wasn’t getting any better, so he had a chest x-ray. The following day his doctor called, extremely concerned about what the imaging showed.

“They told me I needed to go to the emergency department as my x-ray was abnormal. It was very unexpected – for weeks I thought I had a chest infection that just wouldn’t go away,” Aaron recalled.

“The reality was that my heart was not in a good state. I had severe heart failure. It was a huge shock, especially as our baby was due about 4 or 5 weeks after that.”

The diagnosis was idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. With no family history or genetic links to heart disease, doctors say this could have been the result of an undetermined virus that had significantly damaged Aaron’s heart muscle.

Aaron was transferred to Perth’s Fiona Stanley Hospital, where he started treatment immediately, and doctors carried out tests to figure out the severity of his heart failure.

“The thought of transplant hadn’t even crossed my mind at that stage. I just thought my treatment would include a range of medications.  

Four days later – on Christmas Eve – Aaron’s wife went into labour.

“My son was born on Christmas Day amidst all the chaos. They let me travel to a different hospital about 40 minutes away to be there for his birth. I had to wear a defibrillator vest to make the trip,” said Aaron.

Aaron was discharged from the hospital on Boxing Day but was still very sick, tired and sleeping a lot. Despite that, Aaron continued to visit the cardiac gym in an attempt to stay as strong as he could.

“It became apparent at the gym that I was getting more tired, short of breath and intolerant to exercise. One day I couldn’t even finish a 5-minute walk on the treadmill. After that I got called in and was told I needed a heart transplant,” Aaron recalled.

“That’s when it really set in how scary it was. Up until that point, it never dawned on me that I might die.”

Aaron was on the transplant list for around 5 to 6 weeks.

“My condition was deteriorating, and I was told to go to the ICU. At 6 am the next day I received that life-changing call and was told they’d found a match for a transplant,” he said.

This life-saving gift of a new heart is one he is incredibly grateful for. A gift that has allowed him to spend precious time with his little boy. 

“I often find myself looking up to the clouds, thinking about how thankful I am to receive this gift from a stranger and for their family for making that momentous decision.”

“My son was born during this absolutely chaotic time. He’s three now. It’s the most fun being around him now. These past few years, I’ve worked hard to be fit and healthy so I can be around for him and my wife,” Aaron said.

“I’m constantly in awe of the things I can do now, and it’s the really basic stuff that’s most special.”

Something that means a lot to Aaron is cycling – and he is now preparing to participate in the upcoming Tour de Brisbane, an important ride to support transplant research through The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation.

The Foundation, through The Common Good, is proud to support Australia’s leading heart and lung hospital – The Prince Charles Hospital.

This hospital is a hub for a range of specialised state-wide services, including heart and lung transplantation and transplant-related conditions.

“Having just received a second chance at life, I had time to reflect on things, and while I wasn’t sure I’d be able to cycle again, I started researching the rides out there around transplant, and the first thing that came up was the World Transplant Games. A few months later, I heard about Tour de Brisbane and its connection to The Common Good and The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation and how it supports transplant research. Since then, it’s a ride I wanted to get involved with,” said Aaron.