Between September 13-19 the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Canadian Blood Service has held events to highlight Living Donation Week.

These events include education sessions, panels, and a flag raising at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

Whether it’s a kidney or a portion of the liver, donors are needed constantly. More than 4,000 Canadians are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and about 250 will die each year while waiting. Living donors can offer transplant recipients shorter wait times, better health outcomes and the chance to return to activities they enjoy.

The Kidney Paired Donation program helps to pair willing donors who are unable to donate directly to a loved one because they are not compatible matches and matches them with another compatible recipient in the country.

Last year, close to 90 living liver transplants and more than 500 living kidney transplants were performed in Canada, with more than 100 of those kidney transplants being made possible through the KPD program. Any healthy adult can become a living donor.

More information can be found at blood.ca/livingdonation, or find out more by contacting your provincial or territorial living donation program.