Uqasha Imran Foundation launched to honor daughter's legacy

For Imran Amjad, the memories of his daughter Uqasha Imran are of a young woman who was full of life before it was tragically cut short.

"She was a picture of, as we say, loving, caring, giving — an absolute package of that," he said.

"But that is what most people know, what they don't know, [is] the impact she had on a lot of young Canberrans in sports.

In March 2025, Ms Imran suffered catastrophic injuries after a bus failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into her while she was riding a motorcycle.

The 22-year-old died of a traumatic brain injury after three days in hospital and the bus driver later pleaded guilty to negligent driving causing death.

Outside court last year, Mr Amjad said the "void in our family life will never be filled".

The family has since poured their grief into finding ways to honour Ms Imran, who they say was very clear about what she wanted to happen in the event of her death, despite her youth.

A final wish granted

Ms Imran was training in Taekwondo before her death.

"She was a second-degree black belt at the time of the accident. She was training for her third-degree black belt, literally a few weeks out of that," Mr Amjad said.

In the wake of her death, Ms Imran's taekwondo club awarded her a third-degree black belt in recognition of the fact that she had completed her training.

But he said she also put her time into helping others, training younger athletes.

It was that generosity, he said, that led her to express a wish to have her organs donated when she died.

"Uqasha had spoken to us literally a few days before that because we were planning on taking a trip and she said she wanted to sort out things," Mr Amjad said.

"So we were already in the process. Life didn't give her, or the death didn't give her, the opportunity, but the intention was there, so we carried her wishes forward."

When her wish was fulfilled three days after the crash, it gave the family comfort in their grief.

"That is where we get the courage from, how she struggled and clinged on to life on the way to help four more lives," he said of Ms Imran's final days in hospital.

Passion for sports passed on

This weekend, the family launched the Uqasha Imran Foundation, which aims to help young people access sport by removing financial and logistical barriers.

"And I'm very, very proud of the Canberran community who have come around us to make this a possibility," Mr Amjad said.

The foundation is not limited to martial arts, but any sport.

"The purpose is to help the young kids, the young athletes, depending on their circumstances, not which sport they are in," Mr Amjad said.

"We certainly have already helped five students in different aspects of their training, mentorship, and attending the competitions and being successful.

"It was great to see a couple of these kids coming back and saying, 'look at this, I have achieved this medal and this is because you helped us'."

But he has hopes of seeing the foundation's scope expand beyond the Canberra region.

'Have your intention known'

But the family has another goal: to raise awareness of organ donation.

Mr Amjad said Australia was "lagging" when it came to registered organ donors.

"But please have your intention known, have your heart open for generosity to help a number of other lives."

DonateLife ACT donation specialist nursing coordinator Jean-Christophe Chatelin said for many people, organ donation was a way to make sense of their loss.

Currently, 35 per cent of the population is registered, with that rate at 27 per cent in the ACT.

"So sometimes people will talk to their families and mention that they would like to become an organ donor if they had the opportunity, but it doesn't mean that they have registered their wish or the decision."

Support and resources are available at hospitals in Canberra for those considering organ donation for a loved one, including interpreters for people who don't speak English.

"In the hospital, for example, we can involve the representatives of the different faiths if the family wish to," Mr Chatelin said.

"I've worked with families from different walks of life — Christian, Muslim — and most of those faiths are supportive of organ donation.

"They've got some clinical background sometimes, so they can facilitate those conversations."

'The beauty of organ donation'

The family has since been able to learn more about Ms Imran's generosity in her death.

"The beauty of organ donation is when a couple of months ago we received a letter from one of the recipients," Mr Amjad said.

"Getting those stories back and being able to, obviously with legal barriers around it, to communicate with those recipients back and forth, it is amazing.

"It's like I'm still talking to my Uqasha."