The Lakeshore News Reporter
April is about the gift of life!
“As long as you’re 16 years of age or older and have a valid health card, you should register,” says Niva Segatto, chairperson for the Windsor-Essex Gift of Life Association.
Since 2013, that group has been an advocate for organ and tissue donation.
According to the Trillium Gift of Network, more than 90 percent of Ontarians are in favour of organ donation. However, only one in three Ontarians have registered their consent to donate.
Segatto shares Windsor ranks 152 out of 172 communities and she would like to see those numbers improve.
On April 22nd the local group is teaming up with the Windsor Express for a home game, where the theme will be ‘Education, Registration, and Celebration.’
Transplant recipients and donor families will be part of the festivities. “They’ll be bringing the ball in and doing the tipoff,” said Seggato. Fans will also have the opportunity to register in the concourse area.
Segatto says there are a lot of myths about who can be a donor.
“Seniors will come up to our booth, and say ‘Oh, we’re too old for that.’ We say no you’re not. Windsor is low because of the education side of the issue.”
Registration has a strong connection to donation. When a potential donor has registered, families almost always proceed with donations. In the absence of registration, families give their consent only half the time.
For BeADonor Month, we will be encouraging Windsor-Essex residents to register their consent for organ donation online at BeADonor.ca.
Be the first to comment