Zenobia finds her purpose

Zenobia October, Donor Coordinator at Vitanova, may have had quite a different image in her head when she started her career at the tissue bank, but one thing’s for certain – she’s found tremendous purpose and meaning in her current role as she helps bereaved families navigate through the first few critical days after the loss of a loved one.

One only has to spend a few minutes in Zenobia’s company to know that she is a warm, compassionate and caring individual who, in her own words, is at her happiest when she can be of service to others. All these traits serve her well in her daily role as a Donor Coordinator for Vitanova Tissue Bank – a job that requires her to guide, support and inform families in their darkest hour of losing a loved one, about the life-changing virtues of tissue donation.

Hers is not an easy job, and it’s certainly not for everyone, but Zenobia believes that this opportunity was put on her path for a reason; she loves it so much that she has every intention of staying at Vitanova for a very long time!

Career background in nursing and pathology

After Matric and a stint at a chips factory, Zenobia started working at Mediclinic Panorama doing general cleaning work. She applied for Mediclinic’s in-house nursing programme and was selected, but had to postpone her plans due to her first pregnancy. When she was contacted during maternity leave, she jumped at the chance to complete her training, and proceeded to work as a staff nurse at Mediclinic for 10 years.

Zenobia’s next career adventure led her to pathology, and she worked as a phlebotomist at Pathcare, Ampath and Lancet from 2009 until 2022, when the Donor Coordinator position became available.

Family matters

Another thing that stands out about Zenobia is her love for her family, which explains her ability to connect with families in the depths of heartache when emotions are running high.

She met husband David through a colleague, and they have been married for 13 years. Between them they’ve been blessed with five children: his adult daughters Suraya and Monique, her 23-year-old son, Xaldo, and the two young daughters they share, Farron (12) and Zoë (7). The family already has five lovely grandchildren.

Staying strong is part of the job

Between her job, and the demands of being a wife, mom and granny, Zenobia doesn’t get lots of opportunities for me-time or self-care. She prefers to recharge by taking out her youngest daughters and spending quality time with them.

As one can imagine, she also has to deal with her own emotions from time to time. Because she can’t fall apart in front of grieving families, Zenobia says she has a good cry in her car, or goes for a quick walk when she has to compose herself.
To assist coordinators deal with the stressors brought on by their highly-specialised roles, Vitanova provided them with regular debriefing sessions and quarterly group and individual counselling sessions.

Do people know about tissue donation?

Zenobia regularly encounters ignorance about tissue donation. As such, she often starts her conversation with grieving families about organ donation, as it’s a more familiar concept for most. She finds that people are predominately positive about all the good that can come from tissue donation once they understand it, although some might still have cultural or religious objections that prevent them from agreeing to it. Where families disagree amongst each other over a family member’s donation, Zenobia would rather lose a potential donor than cause lasting family discord.

Vocal tissue donation advocate

Not one to keep office hours, Zenobia uses community platforms like donors’ memorial services or her church to keep educating others. She has found that people who hear her talk at these events often get in touch afterwards to either find out more or register as donors.

Vitanova is lucky to have this special woman in our family, and we wish her many happy years with us!