by Anne Finlay-Stewart

The Grey-Bruce "Transplant Trot" is being held Saturday, May 30 at Kelso Beach. This is why that is important.

(This was originally published in the Sun Times in 2012 as one of my "Orange Crate" columns.)

"MULDER, Arthur - 76 went in peace to be with his Lord on Feb. 7, 2012, at his home in Owen Sound after a 24 year extension of life thanks to his Heart Transplant in 1988. Art was born on Mar. 13, 1935 in Holland and became a proud Canadian in 1953... Art started work in construction and then took up farming in Bruce County until his retirement due to health concerns which lead to his Heart Transplant. Art spent the next 24 years being busier than ever, sailing as always, learning to play the violin and other instruments and joining the Merry Music Makers which brought him great joy."
Maybe you knew Art. I remember meeting him years ago when I asked him about his t-shirt. It read "Don't take your organs to heaven...heaven knows we need them here." By my calculation Art Mulder was six years younger than I am now when he received the gift of his new heart, and he was a grateful advocate for organ donation every bonus day of his life.
When I read about Art's death, I thought about my own experience with this uniquely intimate form of donation. My maternal grandfather went irreversibly blind at age forty-two, so my mother was always very aware of the value of eyesight. When my father died, she arranged to have his corneas donated to the Eye Bank of Canada. Some time later we had a letter telling us that because of his gift, two people had received transplants and regained their sight. Each year corneal transplants restore sight to 1200 Ontarians, but in 2011, 59 similar surgeries were cancelled due to lack of available tissue.
Fewer than three percent of us will end our lives in a hospital on a ventilator, and that is the only circumstance in which a major organ can be removed for transplant. Four people have been able to make such a gift in the past five years [2007-11] through the Grey-Bruce Regional Health Centre. One donor can benefit as many as seventy-five recipients and save up to eight lives. With more than 1500 people waiting on transplant lists in Ontario, every possible donor is precious.
Apparently ninety percent of Canadians support organ and tissue donation, but fewer than twenty-five percent have made plans to donate. Owen Sounders as a group are much more aware – 43% of us are registered donors. Even if you have signed one of those paper cards, double check that you are on the registry. If you have a new Health card with your picture on it, look on the back for the word DONOR. It is easy to check or register, on-line at beadonor.ca or at the Service Ontario office.
Don't worry about your age or your medical condition. The oldest organ donor was 90 and the oldest tissue donor was 102. The transplant team will determine what tissue can be used and for what recipients. Donated bones can prevent amputations, skin can cover life-threatening burns and heart valves can repair birth defects in children.
A friend of mine has recently retired with her partner to be a full-time grandparent. A simple life transition, it was only possible because when her partner needed a kidney transplant, my friend Kathy turned out to be a match. Living kidney donations are the most successful of all transplant procedures, but the viability of living donor transplants is improving every year and now includes parts of a liver, lung, small bowel and pancreas.
The simplest way to save lives while you are still around to smile about it is by donating blood. If you are between 17 and 50 you can also join the One Match.ca Stem Cells and Bone Marrow Network. More than two-thirds of people who need this kind of transplant will not find a match in their own family so the more people who are on the registry, the more likely a life-saving match will be found when it is needed.
The subject of organ and tissue donation is finding its way into high school civics curriculum, sermons and medical appointments. In our family, we discussed it like wills and life insurance, as a far distant and almost unimaginable future event. "Not that I am ever going to die, but if I did, you should give my organs away...."
It would be wonderful to think that if I cannot be here, someone like Art would be getting a second chance, and learning to play the violin.