Tissue and Organ Donation Awareness

National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month (NOTDAM)

Every year, National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month (NOTDAM) takes place during the month of April. NOTDAM encourages Canadians to have important conversations with their friends and loved ones regarding their decisions about donation; to ensure that each of our tissue and organ donation wishes and decisions are understood.

Saskatchewan has an organ and tissue donor registry. Visit www.givelifesask.ca to register or update your decision.

Registering your decision indicates your willingness to donate. However, this is only an intent to donate, not a consent. Consent is obtained through your next of kin, which is why it is so important to talk to your family about your decision to donate.

Light it Green Day/Green Shirt Day

On April 7, buildings in several Saskatchewan cities will shine for Light It Green Day. This is in conjunction with green shirt day which honours Humboldt Broncos' defenseman and organ donor Logan Boulet.

Before Logan Boulet was fatally injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, he had registered his decision to be an organ donor and discussed his wishes with his family.

The 21-year old defenseman went on to save six lives with his generous gifts. In the weeks that followed, Logan’s story inspired more than 100,000 Canadians to become registered organ and tissue donors. This became known as the “Logan Boulet Effect”.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority encourages you to wear green or light it green on Sunday, April 7 or on Monday, April 8 (at school and in the work place) to promote organ and tissue donation awareness and to honour the Humboldt Broncos victims, survivors and their families .

For more information on Green Shirt Day and the Logan Boulet Effect, visit Greenshirtday.ca

#GreenShirtDay
#LoganBouletEffect
#BeInspired

Ocular Donation Month

Every year we use the month of November to raise awareness of ocular donation and its impact on the lives of those who receive the gift of sight.

Ocular transplantation, more specifically corneal transplantation, the cornea is the outer clear part of the eye, is the

most commonly preformed transplantation surgery, with a success rate of about 95%. Ocular donation and transplantation are not as well known publicly compared to organ donation, which is why we are bringing awareness to this life-changing program.

Bringing this up to your loved ones can sometimes be difficult but it is important to start the conversation in order to bring awareness to others and for them to know your wishes regarding donation after death.

Steps you can take today

Take these steps to become an organ donor:

Visit www.givelifesask.ca to register your decision
Talk to your family about your decision to be a donor, so they can support your wishes.

Donating organs or tissues, whether living or deceased, is a life-changing gift. To learn more about how three Saskatchewan families were positively impacted by receiving these most precious gifts, please listen to their stories.

#BeADonorSask

We encourage you to share these videos on your social media channels with the hashtag, #BeADonorSask to encourage others to have this important discussion with their loved ones: