Rod Wiens, 54 of Herschel, Sask., said he’s counting his blessings this Christmas after receiving a life-saving transplant in the spring.
“If I wouldn’t have got the transplant, I wouldn’t be here today.”
READ MORE: Saskatchewan organ transplant recipient puzzled by law’s donation veto
Two years ago this past August, Wiens says he started to feel run down but didn’t realize how serious it might be until his wife told him that his colouring was off.
“I got diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, which is probably a virus that I caught at some point – not quite sure how or why and it was my immune system was attacking my liver.”
After a few stays at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Wiens was airlifted to Edmonton after he took a turn for the worse.
From April 14 on, he would be on bed rest at the University of Alberta Hospital. Wiens says he didn’t think about what would happen if he didn’t receive a transplant in time or what would need to happen to get one.
“You’re thinking, I’m sitting here waiting for someone to die and if you focus on that you’ll never survive.”
On May 6, Wiens and his family received good news – he was getting a new liver.
Wiens says he will be eternally grateful to the complete stranger who saved his life.
“Thank you for making their decision to become the donor.”
Others aren’t as lucky as Wiens. Every year, people die waiting on a transplant list.
In Saskatchewan, organ donor rates are some of the lowest in the nation.
READ MORE: Organ donations rise but many Canadians still on transplant wait list: report
Less than one per cent of people donate an organ or tissue. To improve these rates, the provincial government is looking at a new approach, something that has been done in European countries but never in Canada.
“I’d like to see us go as far down the presumed consent line as we possibly can while still obviously respecting the laws of the land,” said provincial Health Minister Jim Reiter.
“Essentially what it would be is everyone is a presumed donor unless they’ve decided to opt out.”
READ MORE: Saskatchewan premier eyes presumed consent to boost organ donation
The government is now doing the legal ground work to ensure this isn’t a constitutional issue. Reiter said an update can be expected in the new year as to just how far this can be taken.
In the meantime, Wiens says he plans on putting pen to paper and writing a letter to the family who lost their loved one, someone whose legacy will live on through the father of four.