Be a Donor Month: How you can help save lives

(Hagersville) – Did you know around 1,400 people in Ontario are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant? For them, this is the only way to get better, but sadly, every three days, someone dies waiting for their transplant.

But you can help. By registering as an organ and tissue donor, you show those waiting that you’d help them if you could.

April is Be A Donor Month, and West Haldimand General Hospital (WHGH) and the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), are working together to get more people to sign up as donors.

“We’re grateful for our partnership with Trillium Gift of Life Network and the lives that have been saved because of the selfless acts of patients and their families in making the decision to be a donor,” says AnneMarie VanSickle, WHGH’s Director of the Emergency Department.

Important facts to know:

• One donor can save up to 8 lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 more through the gift of tissue.
• Age alone does not disqualify someone from becoming a donor. There’s always potential to be a donor; it shouldn’t stop you from registering.
• Your current or past medical history does not prevent you from registering to be a donor. Individuals with serious illnesses can, sometimes, be organ and/or tissue donors. Each potential donor is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• All major religions support organ and tissue donation, or respect an individual’s choice.
• Donating won’t affect your funeral plans. You can still have an open-casket funeral.

WHGH and TGLN will continue to grow and support individuals and families in need of life-saving and enhancing organs and tissues in the years to come. During our last fiscal year (April 1, 2023-March, 31, 2024), WHGH had four tissue donors, including three multi-tissue donors which greatly enhanced the lives of many others.

While the majority of Ontarians believe that organ donation is a good thing, just over a quarter of us are registered as donors. Some great strides have been made in Ontario over the past year, but still more needs to be done. You can Spread the Word by encouraging your friends and family to register their consent to become organ and tissue donors.

Currently, 35 percent of Ontarians are registered donors. That is 4.7 million people out of an eligible 13.1 million. According to www.beadonor.ca, 42 percent of residents living in Haldimand County are registered donors.

You can sign up to be a donor and possibly save a life at by registering at www.beadonor.ca .

Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) is responsible for delivering and coordinating organ and tissue donation and transplantation services across the province, as well as for planning, promoting, and supporting all health care and allied professionals, advocates, and the Ontario public in fulfilling their shared and integrated responsibilities in saving the lives of Ontarians waiting for a life-saving transplant.