Givealittle plea to help stricken heart recipient

A fundraising campaign is under way for a Whakatane man whose body has rejected a heart gifted to him two years ago.

Isaac Harawira's Givealittle page, set up by friend Ramona Radford, is to help with mounting emergency costs the family must meet as Mr Harawira faces a long recovery in Australia.

"Isaac is amazing," Ms Radford wrote.

"He's got a quirky fashion sense, wicked sense of humour and the biggest, most loyal and generous Maori heart I know. He has been a selfless family member, friend, colleague to so many people."

In January Mr Harawira left Whakatane for Australia, to work and save money for a church mission that he hoped to be ready by the end of the year.

"Isaac had a full heart transplant a couple of years ago. His body undergoes stress when he gets an infection and, last week, he had one of those episodes," Ms Radford wrote.

"His body suddenly rejected the heart he'd had for two years, considering it to be a foreign body, as he recovered from food poisoning.

"Doctors and surgeons have operated to stabilise his condition and while he is stable, his heart is now weak and damaged."

Mr Harawira's whanau have flown into Brisbane from various parts of New Zealand and Australia.

"As you know Kiwis are not entitled to support while they live in Australia, and Isaac's recovery is likely to take months.

"The costs will quickly mount.

"If we can help relieve the burden of the mounting emergency costs, the whanau are assured to get him the help he needs."

Online crowdfunding phenomenon Givealittle has been a financial lifeline for people in need since 2007.

Founded by Nathalie Whitaker who "ran it on a shoestring", and purchased in November 2012 by the Spark Foundation - the philanthropic arm of Spark, formerly Telecom, Givealittle has gone from raising $50,000 to $60,000 annually in 2012 to more than $80,000 a day.

To donate to Mr Harawira, go to givealittle.co.nz/cause/isaacharawirawhanau.