SUE'S BLOG...
January 27, 2012
Are You A Registered Donor?
I’m always on the look out for ways that we as responsible, respectful citizens can help out our fellow neighbours and improve the lives of those around us. It’s a selfless way to live and often flies in the face of our natural tendencies to look out for “me and mine.”
Sometimes our acts of kindness benefit fellow neighbours whom we don't even know – as is the case with organ donation. Those in the field say that as a registered organ donor, you could save the lives of up to eight people and enhance the lives as many as 75 others! Now that’s what I call “paying it forward!”
When you register as an organ donor, you are truly thinking of others. Here’s a short list of how your donation could help others.
- Organ donation saves lives. It is often the only treatment option for people with organs that are damaged through injury or disease and who would otherwise die.
- Eye donation restores sight after disease, injury or congenital blindness.
- Bone donation restores mobility and prevents amputation.
- Hearts donated for heart valves repair birth defects in children and others.
- Skin donation provides life-saving wound covering for burns.
- Transplants not only save lives, they return recipients to productive lives. Outcomes continue to improve each year so more and more transplant patients are living longer and healthier lives. [Source: beadonor.ca/faqs]
Perhaps you’ve already signed your donor card or indicated on your driver’s license your willingness to be an organ donor. That’s fantastic! However, did you know that you still might not be registered as a donor? In Ontario, you’re asked to do one more step: visit beadonor.ca and check if you’re registered. If not, you can register there to ensure that the right people know about your wishes when it matters.
Of course, I want to extend my best wishes to everyone for a safe, long and happy life. We never know when accidents may happen, but we can take the proactive step to ensure that, if they do, we make the most of our lives by helping others in this remarkably selfless way.
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