Alberta works to promote awareness as a record-breaking year program for organ donation
A record number of Alberton is donating to limbs or tissues – a milestone that has saved hundreds of people, says advocates and doctors.
Give Life Alberta reported that 317 people who died in 2024 donated the organs or tissues. It is 273 donors in 2023 and above 248 in 2022. This comes when the medical team works to raise awareness.
Heather Zirk lost her husband Harry seven years ago and decided to donate to her cornea, bones and other tissues, based on her desires.
She remembers her as a magnificent person who was always giving back. Now, he is a lawyer for organ donation for all the people around him – encouraging people to interact with the family about their wishes.
“There is a lot of relief to know that I have done this because he is what he wanted – if suddenly I have to decide,” Zirk said.
“And it helped my children be able to talk about it more openly about it.”
Medical Director of Give Life Alberta North, Dr. Dennis Dijogovic stated that it is satisfactory to see the incremental growth, but it is difficult to indicate the same reason to run the trend.
“What we are hoping that awareness is that these numbers are running, identifying that the organ donation comes from impermanence,” Jogovic said.
He credits some factors coming together.
In 2023, the provincial compulsory referral law became effective, requiring a doctor, when patients are given the opportunity to donate when the circumstances are correct.
Since then, a consolidation of health care teams also formed Give Life Alberta-to create a dedicated provincial office and start a public awareness campaign.
These allow medical teams to ensure that they do not miss donation opportunities, Jojovic said.
Alberta Health Services is steadily increasing the organ and tissue donation because it works to create awareness and a strong culture of charity – with legislative changes. The CBC talked about the choice of donating with Albertons.
Decisions like him are distinguishing in the lives of people like 10 -year -old Sesili Kalin.
The young girl required a heart transplant at the age of 10 weeks. Her mother Candis Kalin remembers the call and hearing that someone said “yes” for a donation.
Candis Kalin said, “It was incredible and exciting and scary at the same time.”
He said that the family thinks of its donor family all the time.
“Somebody had to lose your child to survive – and this is something for which we will always be grateful.”
More Alberton is donating that the news is a comfort for him, as it is likely that the sessile will need a replacement of another one day.
“Cecily has illuminated our lives in so many ways … It is going on with us for the rest of our life that someone made a final sacrifice and a family said yes in its deep grief hours.”
He said that it is necessary that Albertons inform the family of their wishes, as they finally get the final call – regardless of registration.
Djogovic said that the family consent rate is still low, as they will expect – within the range of 50 to 60 percent.
“We want to ensure that we support the public enough that they feel that it is something that is right for them. There is no correct answer.”
He said that one organ donor can save the lives of eight people. More than 500 people in Alberta are currently waiting for life-saving transplant according to Alberta Health Services.
