Moose Jaw’s Transplant Trot and its colourful green T-shirts are returning after a four-year pandemic-induced absence, giving organ transplant advocates the opportunity to discuss the benefits of donating organs, tissues and marrow.
The sixth annual event occurs Sunday, May 28, at Sunningdale School. The trot starts with speeches at 9:45 a.m., followed by the 3K walk, 5K walk or run and 10K run at 10 a.m.
Entry fee for adults over age 13 is $45, for children six to 12 is $20 and children under five are free. Participants will receive a free shirt with entry, while there will be a raffle featuring prizes from community businesses.
All funds raised will go to the Canadian Transplant Association to continue raising awareness about organ donation and transplants.
The Transplant Trot was created to celebrate life after transplantation for organ and tissue recipients, increase organ and tissue donation awareness in the community and across Canada and increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors across the country.
“We’re very excited to finally be able to (have it again),” said organizer Kevyn Gadd, who had a double-lung transplant in 2014 in Edmonton, where he learned about the Transplant Trot and then brought it to Moose Jaw.
It has been a long four years, but it was the right decision not to hold the event because many people whom the event represents are immunocompromised, he continued. Organizers held several virtual runs during the pandemic, but it wasn’t the same as an in-person event.
What’s unfortunate is Saskatchewan was seeing a breakthrough in awareness with organ donations when the pandemic erupted in March 2020, Gadd said.
The province launched an accessible online organ donor registry in September 2020, making it easier for people to become donors with the click of a button.
“We couldn’t really celebrate that that much because there wasn’t a lot of ways to get together and do that, especially in the COVID times … ,” he said.
“(But) you know, (we’re) just really excited to get back there and bring awareness to such an important cause that really needs to be heard about in the public more often.”
Gadd was in Swift Currently recently to attend his son’s lacrosse tournament and noticed banners hanging in the arena promoting organ donation. He appreciated seeing that, along with the stickers or ribbons people wear.
Raising awareness about organ donation is important because when families face difficult times with loved ones receiving medical care, they need to know what their family member’s wishes are in advance, he added.
Saskatchewan’s response to organ donation has been climbing over the past few years, part of which can be attributed to the Logan Boulet effect, Gadd said.
Boulet was one of 16 Humboldt Broncos’ members killed in the 2018 bus crash. He had registered to be an organ donor just before the crash.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, 27 people in Saskatchewan received a kidney transplant in 2021 while 115 were on a wait list for that organ. The Saskatchewan Health Authority also has data on organ donations in the province.
People can be a hero being a donor because eight others will benefit from their organs, while 75 others can benefit from bone marrow, tissue and blood, said Gadd.
“Organ donation saves lives. It can make a terrible situation for one family be the greatest day in the world for another family,” he added.
Visit www.mjtransplanttrot.ca to register and for more information.
