Register hope (editorial)

London Community News

When it comes to organ and tissue donation, the newest registration rates recently released by Trillium Gift of Life Network offer a good news/bad news scenario. First, the good news. Awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation is at an all-time high with the provincial registration rate average rising slightly to 22 per cent. Awareness campaigns like the one by Ottawa woman Hélène Campbell, who made a friend of comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres while awaiting her lung transplant, stir interest in organ donation, however that interest doesn’t seem to last much after its initial peak. Keeping the issue in the forefront and getting Ontarians to register is the Network’s ongoing battle. Ronnie Gavsie, Trillium’s CEO said, “It takes 116,000 new registrants to move that provincial needle one per cent.” In the last three months, 66,000 Ontarians have registered — 11,000 in the GTA. There also remains confusion about the registering procedure. Many people believe that signing a driver’s licence and carrying the card in a wallet is good enough. In fact, that method has been obsolete for some time. Registering is the only way to make your wishes known and it is important to let your family know of your wishes to be a donor. One donor can save up to eight lives with organs and enhance up to 75 lives with tissue. As of July 24, there were 1,523 people awaiting life-saving organ transplants in Ontario. To find out about donor registration visit www.giftoflife.on.ca or call 1-800-263-2833.