THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has received recognition from the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) for championing organ and tissue donation.
TGLN is Ontario's organ and tissue donation and transplantation agency.
For the third time, it's presented TBRHSC with an achievement award for surpassing the targeted proportion of donors within the total number of patients eligible for donation upon death.
The objective is 63 per cent.
In 2019/2020, the hospital had a conversion rate of 67 per cent.
In an announcement Tuesday, hospital president and CEO Jean Bartowiak said "We take great pride in our role to champion organ and tissue donation registration...I thank all those who have registered to be a donor and I encourage anyone who has not yet done so, to visit BeADonor.ca."
A hospital spokesperson said 32 lives were saved in the past year because of the generosity of 10 organ donors at TBRHSC. An additional six tissue donors improved the lives of many recipients.
More than 1,600 Ontario residents are currently on the waitlist for an organ transplant.
Although more than 90 per cent of Ontarians have indicated they support organ donation, only 35 per cent have formally registered their consent.
