TORONTO – The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) are encouraging Ontarians to register consent for organ and tissue donation this April, and to make a Power of Attorney to ensure that health related wishes are honoured.
In tandem with Beadonor Month, the OBA is launching Make A Power of Attorney (POA) Month on April 1, highlighting the need to talk to your family about two very important health related decisions – organ and tissue donor registration and Power of Attorney.
TGLN and the Ontario legal community have been working together in recent months to create a toolkit for use by lawyers in discussions of life and end-of-life planning. Power of Attorney month is another extension of this partnership.
Organ donation saves lives. In 2013, 992 lives were saved in Ontario through the selfless gifts of donors and donor families. However, more than 1500 people remain on the transplant waiting list and many will die waiting as there are simply not enough organs to address the need.
This April Ontarians should do three things:
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Register consent for organ and tissue donation at www.beadonor.ca to help save lives at end of life;
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Make a Power of Attorney so that someone you trust will ensure your wishes are followed when you are no longer able to do so for yourself; and
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Talk to your family about your decisions.
“TGLN is pleased to partner with OBA to save lives by encouraging forward planning, registration and family discussions,” said Ronnie Gavsie, President and Chief Executive Officer of TGLN. “Overwhelmingly, families consent to organ donation when their loves ones’ are registered. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and help improve the lives of as many as 75 people through tissue donation.”
“The OBA is encouraging all eligible Ontarians to register their consent to donate their organs and tissue. After you register, it is important to talk to your family – they will be asked to affirm consent,” said Pascale Daigneault, President of the OBA. “It is also important to make a Power of Attorney to ensure all of your health-related wishes are honoured.”
Downloadable messages to help lawyers remind people to plan ahead, register their consent to donate and to encourage them to make a Power of Attorney are available at www.oba.org
About TGLN:
Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation for transplantation across Ontario and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.
About the OBA
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) is a branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), representing more than 16,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students across Ontario by providing educational opportunities and improving the law through advocacy and legislative reform efforts.
Contact:
media@oba.org