National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week

April 17th - 24th is National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week in Canada.  John McCrae Senior Public School in Scarborough, Ontario, hosted Carrie Hoto from the Trillium Gift of Life Network to discuss organ donation with grade 7 & 8 students.  Carrie's presentation was full of interesting information & students left with increased knowledge of the topic and a green ribbon to wear in support of organ donation.  Here are some things that I learned today:

• The oldest tissue donor in Ontario was 102 years old
• The oldest organ donor in Ontario was 90 years old
• Living lung donation [donation of two lung lobes] is currently in the works [although not in Ontario yet]
• During a kidney transplant, the non-functioning kidney is not removed
• Dialysis for a patient costs approximately $65,000 - $75,000 per year
• A kidney transplant costs approximately $125,000
• Shintuism is the only religion that does not support organ donation
• Tissue donation can help up to 75 people
• Currently, there are 1500 men, women & children waiting for an organ in Ontario

Carrie Hoto from Trillium Gift of Life speaking to a grade 7 class at John McCrae SPS in Scarborough

I would like to extend my appreciation to both Carrie Hoto and Nicole Poos from Trillium Gift of Life for making today possible!