Corporate Ontario continues to embrace organ donation awareness

More than 60 people turned up for a noon meeting yesterday to hear about organ and tissue donation organized in cooperation with Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN). It was gratifying to see a huge turnout of a combined audience of employees of Nuclear Safety Solutions and Ontario Power Generation.Front: Lori Lucas, Mary Silvestri. Rear: Linda Rumble, TGLN volunteer, company physician Dr. Sotto, Human Resources Director Sean O'Dyer, Merv Sheppard, TGLN volutneer, Katrina McArthur, Brian Kellow, TGLN, Debbie Lanktree, TGLN and a bone marrow recipient (unnamed).

The audience was very receptive to our message. I spoke about my lung transplant experience. Linda Rumble, also a TGLN volunteer, talked about organ and tissue donation from a donor family perspective. Two fellow employees, Mary Silvestri and Lori Lucas had a heartwarming story to tell; last year, Lori donated one of her kidneys to Mary in the ultimate act of friendship by giving her friend "the gift of life".

Brian Kellow, TGLN Community Relations Coordinator, talked about the more than 1770 people on the waiting list for a life-saving transplant while every three days someone dies before receiving the organ they so desperately needed for a "second chance" at life. He urged everyone to sign their donor cards and talk to their families about their wishes.

Trillium Gift of Life Network has been extremely active recently and continues to receive strong support and cooperation from corporations and professional sport organizations and we are already starting to see an increase in the rate of organ and tissue donation in Ontario.