Living Donation Week 2021 is over, but our call to action lives on. We invite you to continue to share your stories of resilience, hope and gratitude and inspire kidney and liver patients on the transplant wait list, and everyone who cares for them, to explore living organ donation.
 
Thank you to everyone - living donors, recipients, care team members, community partners, speakers, moderators and others - who helped make this year's national living organ donation awareness and celebration event such a success! Below are highlights of week. Planning is already under way for #LDW2022, September 11-17. Mark Your Calendars!
 
The Centre Team

Special Thanks

We are grateful for the generosity of our founding supporters:
Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc.
Kearney and Cahill Families
and to all of our donors and partners.

To learn how you can support the Centre, please visit uhnfoundation.ca/livingorgan or call 416 340 3935.

Living Donation Week 2021 Highlights

Last year, the CN Tower lit up green and white in honour of living donors and their transformative gift of life. This year, nearly 20 landmarks across Canada participated in the Light Up for Living Organ Donation Public Awareness Campaign. The Mayors of Ottawa and Toronto also proclaimed September 12-18 Living Donation Week. 

Emceed by the Living Transplant podcast team, this livestreamed event featured living donation stories, messages of gratitude from recipients and families, UHN leadership, and more.


For Living Donation Week, Living Transplant partnered with Amanda Cupido from the RememberTHIS podcast to gather first-person audio stories from living organ donors and recipients.
 
Hear Palma & Jess, Glenna, Katie and Leonard share their stories. 
 

Congratulations to the winners of the #LDW2021 National Pitch Competition sponsored by the Ajmera Transplant Centre and the Canadian Society of Transplantation:

Each team will receive $25K to support their project - $75K in total to advance living donation research. 

Thank you to all the finalists and everyone who made this event possible, including our guest moderator, Cristina Howoron and our distinguished judges, Mary Beaucage, Len Hodder, Dr. Anand Ghanekar, Dr Cynthia Tsien and Dr Aviva Goldberg.


What's New

Green Table Talk is a new series on ACB Organ Health, a YouTube channel developed for and by African, Caribbean and Black patients and creatives to promote health and wellness, and raise awareness of transplant and living organ donation. The channel launched during Living Donation Week with a short promotional video - view it here.  It features patient stories, educational content and candid conversations about transplant. An upcoming episode of Green Table Talk will explore transplant and intimacy.

If you are interested in sharing your story, have suggestions for channel content or guests, or would like to become involved, please email acborganhealth@gmail.com. 

CST and AST released a joint public service announcement to promote awareness of the Living Donor Circle of Excellence - a program which recognizes employers that provide paid time off and other supports to enable living donors to attend medical appointments and recover from surgery. UHN, the BC Maritime Employers Association and patient partners have also released video PSAs in support of the program. You can view them here.

In Case You Missed It

This webinar reviews medication coverage and funding available. Click on YouTube video description box for links to additional resources.  
Based on the Living Donation Week 2021 workshop, Find a Living Donor is a peer-led recorded presentation available on the Centre for Living Organ Donation's YouTube Channel that offers practical guidance to kidney and liver transplant candidates and advocates on how to share need for a living donor, launch a public appeal and more. 
 
The Centre for Living Organ Donation also partnered with the Living Kidney Donors Network, a US nonprofit founded by two-time transplant recipient Harvey Mysel, and the PKD Foundation of Canada, to offer Having Your Donor Find You. This free, self-paced introductory program features short videos and background materials on how to share your story and talk about your need for a living donor. Having Your Donor Find You was developed for kidney patients but the information may also be useful for liver patients.
 
Community partners are encouraged to promote both resources and contact us if they have questions.

Ongoing Education Sessions 
Free online Q&A sessions presented by Centre for Living Organ Donation. Register on Eventbrite.
 

Patient Library Corner

Howl the Owl: organ donation book series for children
The Patient & Family Learning Centre/Library at Toronto General Hospital offers a collection of books to teach children about organ donation with easy-to-understand language and adorable illustrations.
Visit the library to borrow a book, or contact our friendly staff if you have any questions:
Phone: 416 340 4800 ext. 5951
Email: tgpen@uhn.ca

Curbside book pick up/drop-off is also available.

Follow the Centre for Living Organ Donation on social media to stay up to date

The Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN
Toronto General Hospital
585 University Ave., 11PMB 100, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2N2 Canada
livingorgandonation@uhn.ca 
416-340-5400
www.livingorgandonation.ca   

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