Organs Donation in Windsor

By Manvir Kaur

An increased number of people are donating their organs in Southwestern Ontario, including Windsor.

With more than 1500 people in the province waiting for a life-saving transplant, encouraging people to register as donors is important. A recent postal campaign focused on increasing donor registration.

Jennifer Allan is the communication advisor for the Government of Ontario’s Trillium Gift of Life Network and said in the last 10 years the number of deceased organ donors has increased by 53 per cent.

“Thirty three per cent of Ontarian’s are registered donors and that’s 4.2 million out of an eligible 12.5 million people,” said Allan.

In 2018, there were 333 deceased organ donors and 274 living organ donors. In order for organs to be donated, the donor must die in a hospital setting.

According to Allan, the largest demographic of people who donate organs are between 20-29 years old.

Alexandra Way is a 25-year-old organ donor living in Ottawa.

“I always knew about organ donation but I never really thought about it as a personal choice for myself until I heard the story of a young woman in Ottawa,” said Way.

Way says the young woman, Helen Cabel, required a double lung transplant and her story made her realize she could be an organ donor herself.

“I think maybe young people now are more willing to (donate),” said Way. “I think in the past people felt uncomfortable with the idea, now a lot of young people are more open to the idea.”