When the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy cast a dark cloud across the country, Canadians found a way to bring back some light.
Thousands of people are giving something you can’t put a price on: life, in the form of blood donations and organ donor pledges.
“We’ve seen about 50 per cent more collections across Saskatchewan than normal,” Canadian Blood Services territory manager Mike Fisher said. “On Tuesday, we’d have normally around 48 people, but we saw more than 60 come through.”
Bookings for donations in the coming weeks have also skyrocketed.
Fisher says treating a single person in a car crash can require up to 50 donations of blood, a staggering number of those donating today.
“I’ve got family in Humboldt. I’ve got family in Tisdale,” 17-time blood donor Carla Groeger said.
“There are people that were close to the scene and close to the families. It’s a hard time for everybody.”
Dario Antonissen says Humboldt was high on the minds of many people in the Regina Canadian Blood Services building today.
“It just makes you think. For the fifteen minutes it takes you, you could save a life.”
The 18-year-old plans on getting his organ donor sticker once he’s old enough.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health is crediting the story of fallen Broncos player Logan Boulet for sparking “thousands” of calls to the province’s transplant program.
The 21-year old was kept on life support until his organs could be donated to help six people in need.
“I hope this spreads like Wildfire and the actions of Logan and his donation really end up helping hundreds, if not thousands of people across this province and across Canada,” Saskatchewan director of hospital and specialized services Luke Jackiw said.
“The more we talk about this, the more we’ll see our rates in Saskatchewan improve.”
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Logan Boulet’s family says support for organ donation ‘overwhelming’ -
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‘This whole thing has devastated a whole community’: Logan Boulet’s mother -
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‘We just knew that something good could come’: Logan Boulet’s mother -
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Logan Boulet’s family explains cleaning out his locker -
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The story behind Logan Boulet’s organ donation -
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Father says Logan Boulet was raised to believe good things come to those who work hard
Because Saskatchewan does not have an organ donor registry, it’s important for people to make sure their wishes are known to their family.
Even if you have an orange donor sticker on your driver’s license or health card, your family will still have final consent if you’re unable to speak for yourself.
For provinces that do keep a registry, the impact is undeniable.
Alberta Health Services says roughly 400 people generally sign up to donate organs through the weekend.
From Sunday to Wednesday afternoon, more than 7,000 people have already committed.
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