Local 793 is backing a grassroots campaign aimed at boosting the number of registered organ and tissue donors in Ontario.
The campaign has been taken up by the Organ Donation Awareness Committee (ODAC) of the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury. Retired Local 793 members Frank Horan and Michael Quinn, a Lifetime Honourary Member and the union’s former recording-corresponding secretary and Northeastern Ontario supervisor, both sit on the committee.
The ODAC’s latest event, held at the All Nations Church auditorium in Sudbury on Sunday, July 21, was attended by Local 793 officials, staff and members, including Business Manager Mike Gallagher, President Dave Turple, Northeastern Area Supervisor Eric Giroux and Director of Organizing Kyle Schutte and his team.
They were there to lend the Union’s support for increasing the number of registered donors and for proposed legislation that would change organ and tissue donation in Ontario from an opt-in system to an opt-out one.
The NDP’s Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas has led that fight in the provincial legislature, having tried and failed on seven occasions to get legislation passed. She notes that when Nova Scotia passed a similar law in 2021, tissue donations there surged by 40%.
The delay in Ontario is costing lives. Every three days, one Ontarian dies while waiting for an organ.
Brother Quinn said, “There is a fix for this – other countries have shown what is possible. We need people to get behind this – they have to believe they can save somebody. In fact, just one donor can save eight lives.”
Thanks in part to the efforts of campaigners at the Irish Heritage Club, the Sudbury area has one of the highest donor registration rates in Ontario at 57%, ranking 15th out of 170 communities. In comparison, Oakville, home of Local 793’s head office, has just 31% of its health card holders registered as donors.
That is a situation Business Manager Mike Gallagher wants to see change.
He said, “Brother Michael Quinn and Brother Frank Horan are passionate about saving lives by ensuring afflicted individuals can receive an organ transplant when they need it.
“Unfortunately, many lives have been lost because government policy requires you to opt in to have your organs donated after death instead of having to opt out of donation. This has resulted in a decline in the number of organs available and a rise in unnecessary suffering and death.”
Attendees at the Sudbury event heard inspiring success stories from doctors, organ recipients and their families. One of those who has been given a new lease on life thanks to a donor is Local 793 heavy equipment operator apprentice Patrick Moroso, 20, who received a new kidney earlier this spring.
His mother, Donna Stewart, spoke passionately about her son’s health struggles and how his life has been transformed thanks to his donor.
Reflecting on her family’s experiences, Donna said, “The [opt-in] system for organ donors definitely needs to change and that is why I am going to do all I can to help make that change happen, whether that’s by encouraging people to write to their own MPP and Minister for Health [Sylvia Jones], by circulating MPP Gélinas’s petition, or by reminding people of the steps they must take to sign up to become a donor.”
Patrick’s life has been transformed since his transplant. Such has been his rapid recovery from surgery in late spring that he is now ready to get his career as an operator back on track. In fact, Local 793’s Sudbury office has placed him with signatory contractor Teranorth, with a start date of August 6.
“I really can’t imagine what this kid has been through, but thanks to his perseverance and with the help of his family and girlfriend he has won the battle. To be back ready for work after just eight weeks amazes me,” said Brother Giroux.
It takes two minutes to register as a donor using basic information such as date of birth and health card number. You can register or check your status by visiting the Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) website here.
Please consider adding your voice to those demanding a change to the way Ontario registers organ donors by signing France Gélinas’s online petition here.