Alberta Health Services is launching a new public awareness campaign to get people talking about organ and tissue donation.
During National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, AHS is presenting video and print ads showing creative methods of informing loved ones about your decision to donate organs and tissues.
The goal is to normalize talks about donating organs after death for grieving families find it easier to make the decision if they know that’s what their loved one wanted.
The Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Program is now called Give Life Alberta. “The new name is a call to action for Albertans to register their intent to donate online at GiveLifeAlberta.ca and to tell loved ones about their decision,” states a release from AHS.
“Albertans can also continue to register to donate at motor vehicle registry offices. Signing the back of your Alberta Health card is still accepted, although not preferred over online registration, and families must be informed in case the card is lost.”
Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health, said increasing donation rates will reduce wait times for transplants and allow seriously ill patients “to get back to life.”
One organ donor can save up to eight lives, and a tissue donor can save or dramatically improve lives for up to 75 people.
In 2023, Alberta marked a record year – with 273 organ and tissue donors. But almost 300 people are still on the waiting list. Last year, nearly 50 people died while waiting.
When Airdrie resident Kinza Barney received news her 15-year-old son Zachary would not survive a dirt bike crash in 2022, her family knew what he would want.
Zachary “had asked me, ‘Are you a donor?’ because he knew that going in to get his driver’s licence, eventually that was something that was going to be asked of him,” says Barney.
“I showed him my licence and said, ‘See it says ‘donor’ and there’s a little heart at the bottom. What do you think?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely. I want to be an organ donor.’ ”
Zachary’s road test had been scheduled for his 16th birthday. Instead, he donated his organs that day, saving five lives.
“What a coincidence to have had that conversation with a 15-year-old … having to make a decision that reflects his wishes,” says Barney. “It made our decision a lot easier.”
Alberta’s Bill 205 creates a more structured pathway for the donation process, and ensures specialists have adequate time to identify and assess potential donors and discuss option with families.
“The families that have talked about organ and tissue donation… know exactly what their loved one’s wishes are,” says donor coordinator Carey Beninger. “It makes such a difference in such a stressful time.”
To learn more about organ and tissue donation, or to register, visit GiveLifeAlberta.ca