Last Wednesday was Green Shirt Day in the municipality, a yearly event encouraging people across Canada to become organ donors.
The article in last week’s paper about young advocate Ethan Bos mentioned the organ donor card. It has been brought to our attention that simply signing an organ donor card is not enough to be registered as an organ donor in Ontario. In fact, paper donor cards are no longer in use as they often weren’t available when needed. In 2008, Trillium Gift of Life Network adopted an affirmative registry. The official consent by donors to donate organs and tissue is stored in a Ministry of Health Long-Term Care database.
In order to become an organ donor in Ontario, you must register formally online at www.BeADonor.ca or at any Service Ontario location. You can check to see if you are a registered organ donor on the Be A Donor website. You can also check the back of your photo health card. If the word “Donor” is present, you are registered and you do not have to register again.
According to the Be A Donor website, there are currently over 1500 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in Ontario. Every three days, someone will die because they did not get their transplant in time. One donor can save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of 75 more through the gift of tissue. Live Life, Pass it On.
