Why Become A Donor?

Young or old, rich or poor, any one of us might one day get the chance to save or enhance someone's life by becoming an organ or tissue donor.
Your gift might give one of the thousands of Canadians desperately waiting for transplants a second chance-the chance to be healthy again and to enjoy all of life's simple pleasures.
Your gift could also help partially console your family at a time of terrible loss; it might provide them with some sense that their loved one's death was not in vain. It is a great way to preserve their memory and give their untimely death some meaning.
Donated organs come from a number of sources:
Those who donate an organ-usually a kidney or part of a liver-while still living a healthy life (living organ donation).
Those who have suffered tragic, often sudden "brain death," but whose vital organs are maintained artificially by a ventilator (cadaveric organ donation).
Those who have died from causes other than primary "brain death" (tissue donation).
Living donation is becoming increasingly popular as a way to close the gap between the number of people on transplant waiting lists and the number of available organs. Cadaveric donation is, however, still the most common source of organs for transplants. Organs from non-breathing cadaveric sources are not currently used.
For more information on organ and tissue donation and how you can donate, visit www.healthcanada.ca/organandtissue on the Internet.