How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected organ donation?
The COVID-19 pandemic has absolutely affected organ donation and registration. Canadian Blood Services has recently released that the national impact from 2019-2020 for organ donor registration was down 39%. All transplantations and living donations were also down during this time.
Can you walk me through the organ donation registration process and what this entails?
It takes two minutes. You can register online with your province. If you go to davidfosterfoundation.com you can find all the information on how to register.
You need to provide your personal information, verify you are 18+, and select your specifics.
After you register, it is crucial to speak to your family about your wishes about organ donation. Your next-of-kin has the final say about your afterlife wishes, even if you are registered. This is why it is so important to talk about your decision to donate with your family.
What are the different ways people can support?
We always tell people their support is registering to become an organ donor and talking to their friends and family. We must normalize a conversation about organ donation in hopes of educating and inspiring people. Talk about it on social media. Tag and follow the Foundation.
There are a variety of different ways you can support the David Foster Foundation. In addition to a general monetary donation, you can support through the donation of Aeroplan Miles, RBC Rewards, and planned giving.
What is one thing you wish people knew about DFF and organ donation?
Some interesting Canadian organ donor facts to draw awareness:
Organ Donation can be scary to think about, but in reality, you are 6 times more likely to need a transplant than to be an organ donor. I encourage people to go check out some of the families we have helped through their transplant journey. The gift of life through organ donation is something you can’t put into words. We have seen the transplant children we support go on to do amazing things and get a second chance at life. One decision is so powerful.
Overall there is a lot of misconceptions, we encourage people to do their research and make an educated choice before making a decision.
We have been around for 34 years helping Canadian transplant families. We really couldn’t do what we do without the support of our donors and sponsors. An interesting fact about DFF is there are only 5 staff members. We are also fuelled by passionate volunteers that help us during our fundraising events and other initiatives.
April is National Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Month and we have some exciting conversations planned. Make sure to follow along on social!
About The David Foster Foundation
The David Foster Foundation provides financial assistance to families of children for all non-medical expenses while their child is going through the major organ transplant process. Thanks to its annual fundraising efforts and the generous support of Life Legacy Members, national partners, and donors, families receive financial support for day-to-day expenses such as mortgage/rent, car payments, travel expenses, utilities, groceries and more while their child is going through the major organ transplant process.
The success of the David Foster Foundation would not be possible without the generous support of Life Legacy Members including Jim & Sandi Treliving, AWIN Group of Dealerships, Jim Pattison, TELUS, The Slaight Family Foundation, Parq Vancouver, Walter & Maria Schneider, and the Newton Glassman Charitable Foundation in Partnership with the Catalyst Capital Group. The Foundation is also supported by national partners WestJet, Aird & Berlis LLP, Post Media Inc., ALLVISION, and Schnitzer Steel, and community partners Boston Pizza, Oak Bay Beach Hotel, Tom Lee Music, and RBC Dominion Securities, The Hillyard Stephen Group. For those who wish to have a deeper involvement with the organization, there are a number of ways to contribute including the donation of RBC Rewards and Aeroplan miles, all of which will directly help families going through the organ transplant process.