Every year in Canada, since 1997, we have celebrated National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week. The purpose of this week is to increase awareness of the need for individuals to think about and take action to become organ and tissue donors. The last week of April was specifically chosen to commemorate the death of Stuart Herriott, a toddler killed in a motor vehicle incident in the riding of Pickering-Scarborough East in 1994. The child's parents donated his organs and, in turn, helped to save and improve the lives of four others.

Bill C-202, enacting National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Canada was passed unanimously by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology on Feb. 4, 1997. The bill was brought forward by former Liberal Member of Parliament Dan McTeague who says the intent of the bill was to encourage education and awareness about donation and allow Parliament to take a leadership role in addressing the scarcity of organs and thinking about those who die every year waiting for a transplant.

According to Canadian Blood Services, approximately 4,400 Canadians are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant and many more are waiting for tissue transplants. The sad reality is that on average, 250 Canadians die each year waiting. Public opinion data indicates that 90 per cent of Canadians approve of organ and tissue donation yet only 32 per cent have actually put their names on an organ donation registry.

Organ and Tissue Donation by the numbers:

• 90: Percentage of Canadians who polls show support organ and tissue donation. 
• 32: Percentage who have actually registered their decision to be a donor.
• 8: Number of lives that can be saved by one donor.
• 75: Number of patients who could receive tissue from one donor.
• 4400: Number of Canadians awaiting a lifesaving organ transplant.
• 250: Average number of Canadians who die each year waiting.
• 6: Number of times more likely you are to need a transplant than become an organ donor.
• 90+: Age of Canada’s oldest organ donor. 
• 2: Number of minutes it takes to register your decision to be an organ donor online

For more information, visit https://www.blood.ca/en/about-us/media/organ-and-tissue-donation/backgrounder-national-organ-and-tissue-donation-awareness-week.