About 500 people attended the Transplant Trot at Burnaby Lake Regional Park Sunday. The event comes ahead of an awareness campaign later this month that hopes to enroll 48,000 organ donors in 48 hours.
According to Margaret Benson of the Canadian Transplant Association, the Transplant Trot started several years ago to highlight the life-changing power of organ transplants.
“It’s just all about celebrating life–celebrating the lives of those who have gotten a transplant but also celebrating the lives of those who were lost and what a great gift they gave to those of us who are recipients,” says Benson, who received a double lung transplant in 1999. “It’s such a selfless gift.”
Among those in attendance was Addison McArthur, the daughter of Global BC’s Aaron McArthur and Elaine Yong. Addison was only weeks old when she became the first infant to receive a heart transplant at BC Children’s Hospital.
Today, Addison celebrated her fourth birthday and Elaine and Aaron are eternally grateful for what someone did to save their daughter.
“We hear adults talk about the second chance they get in life, they get to do all these things they couldn’t do before,” says Aaron. “For Addision, she wasn’t going to do anything without a transplant. We owe everything to her donor.”
#48in48
More than 4,300 Canadians are currently waiting for an organ transplant and, on average, 230 on the wait list die every year.
As part of the #48in48 campaign, Global BC and BC Transplant are working to change that. Starting April 20, they hope to get 48,000 people to register as organ donors in 48 hours.
“All the provinces that have a registration system will be taking part,” says Benson of the #48in48 campaign. “We’re going to encourage every province just to say, ‘talk to your family.’ Make sure that somebody knows you want to be a registered organ donor. Really that’s the biggest thing–tell a family member. Even if you don’t have a registration system in your province you can still let your wishes be known.”
Benson says the best way for British Columbians to have their wishes known is to register through the BC Transplant website.
-with files from Jennifer Palma and Amy Judd
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