This Organ Donation Awareness Month, David Foster and The David Foster Foundation want everyone to #GetVocal about the need for organ donation

Canada has one of the worst organ and tissue registration rates of all developing countries in the world despite the increasing waitlist

Do you have two minutes to help save a life? With April being recognized as National Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Month, David Foster and the David Foster Foundation are using this month to draw awareness to the constant need for support and encourages all Canadians to get #GetVocal.

The David Foster Foundation is a national non-profit Canadian charitable organization dedicated to providing financial support for non-medical expenses to Canadian families with children in need of life-saving pediatric organ transplants.

How can you get involved? There are multiple ways for you to support us during National Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Month including 1) visit us at www.davidfosterfoundation.com to see how you can help us, 2) register to become an organ donor and share your wishes with your family, 3) Follow @DavidFosterFoundation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates throughout the month, or 4) share a social post with your support by using the hashtag #GetVocal.

“This month really helps raise awareness and highlights the importance of organ and tissue registration and donation,” said David Foster, Founder of The David Foster Foundation. ‘Sadly, the need for registered organ donors is often overlooked but we want to let everyone know that they can help change this. It takes less than two minutes to register and together we can make a significant change in the lives of so many people.”

Some interesting Canadian organ donor facts to draw awareness:

• For a developed country, Canada has one of the worst organ and tissue donor rates in the world.
• In 2020, registration was down 39% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Over 4,500 Canadians are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and each year upwards of 1,600 people are added.
• Of those on the wait-list, the number of deaths work out to roughly 5 deaths per week and 1 death every 30 hours, all which could have been avoided.
• 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives and improve the quality of life for up to 75 people.

“This is an important month for all of us to draw awareness to the alarming numbers and to the urgent need for organ donation – let’s all #GetVocal,” said Michael Ravenhill, Chief Executive Officer at The David Foster Foundation.

As an example of their continuing support, The David Foster Foundation was able to help a boy named Nate, who has been struggling with intestinal failure since birth and would need to be listed for a life-saving transplant. The David Foster Foundation helped by providing funding for the unexpected financial burdens that arose for the struggling family as they awaited a donor. Happily, Nate received a multivisceral transplant in late 2020 and is still in recovery. You can read Nate’s full transplant story here: www.davidfosterfoundation.com/nate. While this is a great success story, there are a number of additional families that need support.

Over the past 35 years, the David Foster Foundation has assisted over 1,300 families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants and provided much-needed dollars in direct family support. One organ donor can save up to 8 lives and improve the quality of life for up to 75 people. It takes two minutes to register, and Canadians can find out more at www.davidfosterfoundation.com.