Riley Turnbull was getting ready to play a soccer game last year when he was given news that would change the trajectory of his life. The then 18-year-old from Mount Gambier, in regional South Australia, had been sleeping poorly, was constantly tired and drinking excessive amounts of water. He went to his doctor and was told to take a routine blood test, which he put off for weeks. But when he received the results, he found out his kidneys were operating at 25 per cent of their function. "Throughout last year I was going OK once I found out, having regular appointments, and then I slowly got worse and worse. "In November I had an operation to have a peritoneal dialysis tube put in my belly and start dialysis because my levels were under 10 per cent." Mr Turnbull was initially told a kidney transplant would need to happen in the coming years. But his condition deteriorated quickly and it became clear he would need a new kidney soon. "I travelled to Adelaide to start haemodialysis. It filters your blood and cleans it out," Mr Turnbull said. "Luckily when I was up there, that's when I got the phone call there was a kidney waiting for me. "I was at 8 per cent kidney function during my last blood test before my transplant." Raising awareness Overall, Mr Turnbull was in Adelaide for three months post-transplant. He spent 70 days straight attending hospital and underwent a further eight procedures. As a sport-mad teenager, he had never thought about organ donation before he fell ill. Now, he wants to use his story to encourage conversations among people of all ages about joining the organ donation registry and discussing plans with family and friends. "It's not just important for people like me receiving organs, but you can donate most parts of your body," he said. When a person dies and qualifies to have their organs donated, their family is given the final say on how to proceed. DonateLife clinical manager Amanda Stewart said 80 per cent of eligible donors who discussed their plans with family before their death were given permission to donate. It drops to 40 per cent if the family is unaware of their wishes. "There's a taboo around death and dying, but it's as simple as having a discussion around what your wishes are," Ms Stewart said. "If you've had the conversation and gone online and registered, then that burden is relieved for them. "They know what your wishes would've been and they're able to support them." Old friends coming together Now back in Mount Gambier after three months recovering from surgery, Mr Turnbull has returned to his soccer club Gambier Central to advocate for organ donation. He is working with Danni Horton, a volunteer at the club who has been on her own organ transplant journey. Ms Horton was first diagnosed with kidney failure in 2003, when she was 21 years old. It would take her until 2021 to receive a kidney transplant; in between, she gave birth, received extensive dialysis and was diagnosed with a blood clot. "We can never thank them [donors] in person [for] … what they've done for my family, not just me," Ms Horton said. Ms Horton has known Mr Turnbull since he was a baby and has helped him through the organ transplant journey. "I'm so proud of him and how he's dealing with it all," she said. "He's just doing such a great job, getting out there and promoting organ donation awareness." Mr Turnbull has had to accept he will never go back to playing soccer. But now he is back home and in recovery, he has set his sights on returning to sport. "I hope to travel around Australia with my girlfriend next year," Mr Turnbull said. "There's also the Transplant Games. [I want] to play sport again.