Durham Region - April is BeADonor Month in Ontario and the hospital hopes the community will take the time this month to talk to their loved ones about organ and tissue donation.
“It is important to discuss your wishes and beliefs about donation with your family, said Tracy McCron, Lakeridge Health’s Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinator. “By doing so, you relieve your family of the burden of deciding on your behalf during their time of grief,” she adds.
Lakeridge Health supports family and friends whose loved ones have given the gift of a life-saving organ or tissue donation - people like Susan, whose brother Danny passed away at Lakeridge Health Ajax-Pickering in January of 2015.
“When Danny took ill we had no idea at first that he was not going to recover. He had had a few episodes where he went to the hospital and he always bounced back. When it became apparent that things were not going well, my oldest brother, and I, started to think about organ donation,” Susan said.
Susan and her family made a decision and told the staff at the Ajax-Pickering hospital their wishes. When the day came, one of the nurses, Karin, told the family that she was going to be with them every step of the way- and she was.
“I don’t think we would have coped anywhere near as well, without Karin and the hospital team literally and figuratively holding our hands,” Susan said. “They called us the next day to tell us they were able to donate Danny’s liver, one kidney, and lungs, we called it our silver lining and it helped us get through the long recovery that was to follow.”
As part of the family’s recovery, Susan and her family are using Danny’s story and their experience to tell others about the importance of organ and tissue donation. They have written to the organ recipients, attended a memorial ceremony, and met many other donor families. “Their stories are confirmation that our decision was the right one,” she said.
Please visit the
Be A Donor website to register or find more information. There are no barriers to registration, and remember that a signed donor card does not mean you are a registered organ and tissue donor. Please double check to confirm and help save more lives in Ontario.
Lakeridge Health Communications
T. 905.576.8711 ext.4317
communications@lakeridgehealth.on.ca
