According to the Saskatchewan Transplant Program, you are six times more likely to need a transplant than you are to become an organ donor, a statistic that supports the Transplant Trot’s goal for celebrating life after transplant and raising awareness about organ donation.
Moose Jaw will host its fifth annual Transplant Trot on May 19, an event that welcomes everyone in the community to join in a 3K walk, a 5K walk or run, or a 10K run in order to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.
Organizer Kevyn Gadd hopes that the event will draw some attention and get people interested in learning more about transplants and how organ donation works in the province. In 2014, Gadd underwent a double lung transplant in Edmonton and there learned about the Canadian Transplant Association’s Transplant Trot, which he brought to Moose Jaw.
“Saskatchewan has the lowest number of organ donors in Canada,” said Gadd. “And it's just something that now we're obviously very close to, and who are going on this journey as well, that we just need more awareness.”
According to statistics from the Canadian Organ Replacement Registrar (CORR), there were 2,930 organ transplant procedures performed in Canada in 2017, with 1,338 donors both deceased and living involved in those procedures. To compare, there were 4,333 patients on the wait list for various organ transplants. That means just over 67% of patients on the wait list received the organ they were waiting for in 2017.
Gadd finds that the most important thing to know about organ donation is how to become a donor. In Saskatchewan, there is currently no registry for organ and tissue donation, which means that organs and tissue will not be donated without consent from the donor’s family or next-of-kin.
“One of the biggest things [to know] is how to state that you want to become a donor,” said Gadd. “There is putting your sticker on your health card, but even more important than that is talking to your family and letting them know, because in the untimely situation that might come up, if your family is not aware of your wishes, they could veto it.”
One organ donor can save as many as eight lives while tissue donation can improve up to 75 lives, according to the Saskatchewan Transplant Program, and donation is only considered once every option to save a donor’s life has been weighed.
The Transplant Trot this year is celebrating five years by hosting a kid’s carnival after the run, with a bouncy house, magic by Chris Edwards, face-painting and games, and various raffles — which include a Roughrider jersey signed by Gene Makowsky, a tourism package, and a Canada-Russia team series jersey from the WHL to be auctioned. Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie is expected to be making an appearance as well.
The funds raised by the Trot will go to the Canadian Transplant Association to continue raising awareness about organ donation and transplants.
“I do know a total for the last four years: we've raised approximately $30,000,” Gadd said, of the Moose Jaw event. “We average around 200 people that come out and enter it, with volunteers as well. We're just wanting to get higher and higher every year, and make it more and more successful.”
Runners and volunteers interested can register at runningroom.com, which will be open until the week before the run, although walk-in registrations will be welcome the day of on May 19.
More information on organ donation and organ transplants can be found at the Saskatchewan Transplant Program’s website or the Canadian Transplant Association’s website.
