WHEN you battle leukemia, a stroke, a hole in the heart and bone marrow treatment, the odds of survival, let alone living a "normal” life, aren't great.

So when Warwick man Stewart Bailey was finally given a touch of luck, it changed his life.

That fateful day came on November 11, 2003, when he received a heart transplant from a donor.

Mr Bailey said that he was "extremely lucky” with the circumstances involving his operation.

"I was told by doctors that with my past medical history it would be very hard to find a compatible fit,” Mr Stewart said.

"Despite the low chance of there being one out there for me, I wanted to be put on the waiting list.”

From there, Mr Stewart said he received the best early-morning call of his life.

"Incredibly, just 27 and a half hours after I was given a call from the hospital,” he said.

"They rang me at 4.30am and told me they had found a match, and the surgery was scheduled for later that day.

"I was wheeled into the pre-op room at 11am, was under the knife for five and a half hours, and was out of hospital within two weeks.

"It gave me a second chance at life.”

Mr Bailey was given the gift of life through organ donation, however Queensland falls behind in the number of donors.

Statistics indicate that 74% of Queensland residents have indicated they're willing to donate their organs and tissue, but at the end of May this year just 27% had registered with the Australian Organ Donation Register.

It takes less than one minute to grant a person a second chance, should tragedy strike.

"Organ donation gives someone a chance of a healthy, decent life,” Mr Bailery said.

To sign up for the AODR, head to: www.register. donatelife.gov.au/.

Now, Mr Bailey is working in "one of the best jobs in the world” as the head of junior boys boarding at Scots PGC, and making the most of his second chance.

"I'm not wasting the opportunity I've been given,” he said.

"Receiving a heart transplant is why I'm still here today.

"I'm forever grateful to the family, and I would love the chance to meet the family of my donor. What they've done means the world to me, and it feels like they're my family now.”