Celebs Back Organ Donations

Silvana Aceto (CFRB News) Over 30 Canadian stars are lending their names and faces to show their support for organ donation. The Celebrity Awareness Campagin was launched today by the Trillium Gift of Life Network.  

Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland,  ‘Coaches Corner' co-host Don Cherry, CFRB's Morning host Ted Woloshyn and Opera singer Measha Brueggergosman are among the celebrities asking you to sign your donor card and tell your loved ones.

"For me saying yes to this campaign was a no-brainer, if having my face on a poster will remind someone to fill out their organ donation card and talk to their family about it...sweet. I'm thrilled to be part of any campaign that has as its ultimate goal to educate, empower and save lives," Brueggergosman said.

"If you had the power in your hands to allow a blind man to see, to allow a dying child to live, how could you possibly say no?" Sue Patterson, a donor mother, asked. "You need to talk to your family about your wishes, today."

A recent survey shows 93 percent of Ontarians support organ donations but the consent rate is only 48 percent and that's because eligible families don't know that their loved ones would have wanted to donate their organs.

"I've been on a waiting list for lungs for 13 months," Kitty Sayle, a Toronto nurse said. "Every person in this province needs to know there are so many people like me waiting for the gift of life.

In Ontario, 1,750 patients are on the transplant waiting list.

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