Organ donation campaign hits the Okanagan

KELOWNA – Okanagan residents are doing their part to help with an ambitious organ donation campaign.  The #48in48 campaign started on Monday.  It’s goal is to get 48,000 Canadians to sign up for the organ donation registry in 48 hours.

“It extends people’s lives,” says Kelowna resident Matt Scaife. “I personally had a liver transplant 15 years ago and I would have died 14 and a half years ago had it not been for that transplant.”

On Tuesday, Scaife was volunteering his time at an information booth at London Drugs sharing his story in hopes of encouraging people to become donors.  The booth also provided forms allowing people to sign up for the registry on the spot.  Scaife says signing up is a very easy and quick process and can be done online or by getting a form from a doctor.  Scaife adds many people may think they are already registered but that may not necessarily be the case.

“Several years ago the whole driver’s licence for organ donor registration was eliminated, ” he says.  “If you thought it was on your  driver’s licence,  it is not. You need to re-sign up.  They actually need your signature digitally online or you can sign up on one of the forms but it is not on your driver’s licence as 95 per cent of people believe it is.”

If you would like more information on the organ donor registry  click here .

The #48in48 is Global News’ campaign.  It ends April 22. To sign up, click here.