To commemorate April’s National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month, the provincial government is encouraging residents to sign up to the online registry.  Thursday is Green Shirt Day, where everyone is invited to wear a green shirt in recognition or organ and tissue donation and bring awareness. This is in honour of Logan Boulet of the Humboldt Broncos.

He was one of 16 victims in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash which occurred four years ago on April 6th, but had registered to become a donor, which inspired more than 150,000 Canadians to do the same.  There were also 13 people injured in that crash when a semi-trailer hit the team bus.

You may also notice landmark building across Canada being illuminated in green. The T.C. Douglas building in Regina will be lit green in honour of Saskatchewan patients who have died while waiting for organ and tissue transplants.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives and one tissue donor can help 75 people. Anyone 16 and older can register as an organ and tissue donor online.

The government says in a news release, donation rates fell across Canada during the pandemic. Saskatchewan Health Authority donation co-coordinator, Jamie Robin-Partyka, says last year 156 Saskatchewan residents were given back the gift of sight because dozens of people made the decision to be cornea donors. She suggests we can all play a big role in turning lives around by making the generous decision to donate.