This page is updated regularly, so be sure
to check back often for news and information about organ donation
and the Canadian Transplant Association.
Members of the media are welcome to contact
CTA President Dave Smith with story ideas or information requests
at:
Dave Smith - President,
Canadian Transplant Association
11230-72 Avenue,
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 0B5
Email: davidsmith@txworks.ca
Toll free: 1-877-779-5991

'Bowled over by a 'miracle'
Posted By MIKE KOREEN
Posted Oct 27h 2009
They stared down death and now they are experiencing the true gift of life.
Thanks to luck, outstanding medical care, sport and courage, Shillane Labbett and her husband, Simon, have taken an incredible journey.
Inspiring like few others, Kingston's Shillane Labbett, 38, received two life-saving new lungs four years ago. Since then, Labbett -- diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 18 months -- certainly has made the most of them.
I..............see full stoory and picture in the Kingston Whig Standard

The story below caught my attention as I read on because it's the story of a daughter who's mother was a donor and how this daughter has since become very active in promoting organ donation and now regularly attends transplant games in the USA. A touching story.
Best regards,
Kathy Tachynski
Secretary
Canadian Transplant Association
'Donation of a lifetime'
Posted October 27th 2009
What happens when you die?
For registered organ and tissue donors, there's a practical answer to that existential question. The region's designated organ procurement organization — for most in , including the Peninsula, that's LifeNet Health based in Virginia Beach — will take over all the arrangements necessary for the harvesting and subsequent transplant of the deceased's organs. It's a rapid-fire process with a window of just a few hours from donor notification to delivery to the recipient's transplant team.
By federal law, a hospital must report all deaths to its regional OPO. If the deceased is not a registered donor, LifeNet then consults with the family for permission. Last year it facilitated more than 400 transplants.
Potentially, one person can save the lives of seven people on the national transplant waiting list, which is maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing in Richmond, and also help 50 others through tissue donation.
All other personal arrangements, such as the funeral, remain the domain of the family.
Here are the stories of a donor family and a recipient:
SHARON SCHREIBER: DONOR DAUGHTER
Sharon Schreiber credits the bravery of her dying stepfather, "the love of my mother's life," with making the tough decision that made her loss bearable. ........ balance of story and pictures in...
Daily Press, Virginia, USA. article by Prue Salasky

The Ottawa Citizen's
articles
on organ and tissue donation, in the Features section
(a multi-media link) are outstanding and a must for all
to view.
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