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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Online registry can save a life
Website helps find organ donors
KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Transplant recipient Kristin Millar, with Premier Greg Selinger and Health Minister Theresa Oswald behind her.
Kristin Millar received a call in January that would dramatically change her life. The former actor was told she was about to receive a new heart.
The 28-year-old Winnipegger had spent 21/2 years awaiting a donor since her heart suddenly and unexpectedly failed in November 2009. A ventricular assist device (an implant with an external battery pack) had performed the duties of her left ventricle since then.
Then, at 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, she received the call all organ recipients await. A heart had become available in Ottawa. By 1:30 a.m., she was on a plane bound for the nation's capital. Several hours later, she was belting out Achy Breaky Heart and Un-Break My Heart as attendants wheeled her into the operating room for what would be a successful operation -- and a new life.
"It's given me my future," said Millar, who became the province's unofficial poster woman Monday for a new online organ and tissue registration site, www.SignUpForLife.ca .
The purpose of the site is to spread the word on the importance of donations and reach a younger generation that might be more likely to sign up online than fill out a wallet card.
"We think it's going to pay big dividends down the road, keep more Manitobans alive, keep more people healthy and encourage us to find another way to make a contribution to our community as citizens," Premier Greg Selinger said at the online registry's launch.
The event, held in the downtown Millennium Library, was non-partisan. Conservative MLA Reg Helwer (Brandon West) signed up on the spot as did the premier. Health Minister Theresa Oswald had done so earlier.
"This is one of those consensus good-idea announcements," said event emcee Hot 103's Ace Burpee.
Arlene Wilgosh, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said 30 to 40 Manitobans give the gift of life most years. More than 50 are beneficiaries of an organ donation annually.
She said the online registry will help doctors and other health professionals easily access donor records and work with a potential donor's family to honour their choice.
The new registry website also offers the option of sharing donation decisions using Facebook, Twitter or email. Social media is seen as a tool for encouraging more donations and a forum for explaining the reasons for registering.
Dr. Brendan McCarthy, medical director for the Transplant Manitoba Gift of Life Program, said sharing your decision to donate with loved ones is critically important so they can give consent to donate on your behalf when you are unable to speak for yourself.
Receiving less attention than organ donations but also critical is the importance of donating tissues such as corneas, skin and bones, McCarthy said. Skin donations are used to treat burn patients, while other tissue donations are used in orthopedic procedures that can get people moving again.
Meanwhile, a little over three months after getting her new ticker, Millar is thankful to be living a normal life.
"I started running. I am, in fact, the slowest runner in the entire world, but I'm also the happiest. I'm just so incredibly grateful for everything."
She's taking a psychology degree at the University of Winnipeg and would like to work with kids in hospital -- an institution with which she is intimately familiar.
With her new heart and new life, she feels a special responsibility to the donor and the donor's family.
"All I can do is try to live in a way that thanks them. I want to be able to show a little bit of their courage and kindness and selflessness," Millar said.
How do you sign up?
GO to www.signupforlife.ca and follow the links. It takes about two minutes. To speed up the process, take out your health card beforehand. You must be 18 years old.
How many people can benefit from one donor?
As many as 80 people can benefit from someone who donates organs and tissues.
How many folks benefit?
Each year, more than 50 Manitobans benefit from organ donations.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 24, 2012 A2
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