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About April's Theme (our very first!): National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week

  • Writer: ishikavancouver
    ishikavancouver
  • Apr 7, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jun 3, 2024


"We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in our hands to make a difference.” - Nelson Mandela



National Organ and Tissue Donation Week occurs every year on the final, complete, week of April (which this year falls from the 21st-27th).


National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week was created with the intention to demonstrate the critical need for organ and tissue donors in Canada as well as to consequently encourage those who are able and willing, to take action. GlobalVoice has chosen this theme to be the first one of our project because we felt it to be one that is incredibly relevant and important to the month of April, although we strongly believe that neither it's message nor the respective decisions people make should be limited to this period of time.


A statement from Health Canada's Minister of Health and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health in 2022 said "in 2020, over 4,400 Canadians were waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant and many more waited for tissue transplants. Of that number, 276 Canadians died while on the wait list. Despite significant progress, we are still unable to meet the needs of all patients waiting for an organ and there remains an urgent need for more organ donors in Canada ".


This message speaks to the dire need for more awareness about organ and tissue transplants. Even one donation could save up to 8 lives- with tissue and eye donors having the potential to improve up to 75 more!


Everyone can make a difference, and when we have the privileges and resources to do so, it is important to step towards the path of impacting another's life for the better.


Thus, GlobalVoice would like to take this month to interview people who have either received/donated organs or tissues, or those who have relatives who have done so. We hope to share their stories- their real emotions, struggles, and experiences- and in doing so encourage others to make decisions that can save countless lives.


For more information on National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week visit:


Works Cited:


HRSATube. (2019, September 10). Organ donation facts: Organ donation with the quizmaster. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8vbbBJOMN0

 

 

Staff, History. com. (2012, February 22). Organ transplants: A brief history. https://www.history.com/news/organ-transplants-a-brief-history

 

Thatcher, M. (2019, August 16). 34 life-changing organ donation facts. Fact Retriever . https://www.factretriever.com/organ-donation-facts

 

Canada, H. (2022, April 26). Statement from the minister of health and minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister O... Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2022/04/statement-from-the-minister-of-health-and-minister-of-mental-health-and-addictions-and-associate-minister-of-health--national-organ-and-tissue-dona.html

 



 
 
 

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