Local organ donation activist Kevyn Gadd admitted he hadn’t heard the news about the provincial organ donor registry launching online earlier today until local media reached out for comments — but the surprising news was the good kind.
“I wasn’t expecting it today, “ admitted Gadd. “But as soon as I saw [those messages], I went and registered online on the website and found out just how easy it was.”
The launch of the online donor registry is a cause very near to Gadd’s heart, as one of the core organizers of the local Transplant Trot charity walk for organ donation awareness and also as the recipient of a double lung transplant in 2014.
Gadd and his family have been vocal advocates for the creation of an organ donor registry for a while, and to see the province of Saskatchewan finally release the project is an exciting moment for the entire Moose Jaw Transplant Trot team.
Gadd’s hope is that the online registry will encourage more people to consider becoming organ donors, thanks to its accessible format and easy availability.
“I think people are more likely to do it [this way]. With putting the sticker on your health card, some people just didn't think about it unless they were directly connected to someone who has gone through that [or] they just kept forgetting to do it,” said Gadd. “But having an online registry helps doctors and medical professionals, they can just type in your card and it will tell them right there.”
The Transplant Trot team had to cancel it's 2020 event due to the pandemic, so the news of the registry launching is more than welcome — but it's not the end of the cause for Gadd.
“Ideally, we would love to one day see the opt-out method, but this is one hundred per cent in the right direction that those who organized the Transplant Trot have been punching for and hoping to see,” said Gadd. “And it just gives us more reason to keep going with what we’re doing, because awareness is getting out there.”
Next year’s Trot is front of mind for Gadd and the team, and he’s already planning to have a computer or device available at the event for participants to sign up for the registry before taking off on the charity run.
Gadd described the process as simple and quick and encourages everyone to consider joining him on the provincial registry, as well as in making personal wishes clear with family. Organ donation is open to anyone interested, even if they may have underlying health issues.
“It absolutely is [still] worth it because just because you might have something wrong with, say, your lungs, but you still have all your other organs and your skin and tissue and corneas — there are so many other options,” said Gadd. “I just hope to see many people register, if that’s their wish.”
Details about the new online organ donor registry can be found in this article here, and the registry itself is available at givelifesask.ca.
