A private member’s bill that would create a federal medal for living organ donors is being promoted as a simple way to raise awareness and help save lives, as senators study legislation already unanimously approved by the House of Commons.Blacklock's Reporter says Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif, who introduced Bill C-234, told the Senate Human Rights Committee that greater public awareness of organ donation could help address long transplant waiting lists and reduce the number of Canadians dying while awaiting life-saving procedures.“One life is a big deal,” said Aboultaif. “How about the hundreds and thousands of lives we can save?”The bill would establish a Living Donor Recognition Medal to honour Canadians who donate an organ without receiving financial compensation.The legislation cleared the House of Commons without opposition on April 22 and now awaits Senate approval.Aboultaif said more than 300 Canadians died while waiting for organ transplants last year, with approximately 4,700 patients currently on transplant waiting lists.“Greater awareness can reduce wait times and bring relief to families facing immense stress,” he told senators.The Edmonton Manning MP said the medal would serve as an ongoing public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging more Canadians to consider living organ donation.Witnesses appearing before the committee argued that public recognition could spark conversations about organ donation and ultimately increase participation..Shelley Hunt, of Penticton, B.C., who donated a kidney, said she initially questioned whether living donors needed a medal but concluded that any initiative drawing attention to organ donation was worthwhile.“I think this is an easy, beautiful thing for Canada to say yes to,” said Hunt.Hunt testified that she only became aware living donation was possible after receiving information in a pamphlet.“I learned about something I did not know existed,” she said.She told senators the proposed medal could introduce more Canadians to the concept of living donation.“Maybe someone hears about this medal, hears about living donation, and says, ‘Oh, you can do that?’” Hunt said. “And maybe that person becomes a living donor.”While many donors do not seek recognition, Hunt said public acknowledgement remains meaningful.“I do think recognition is beautiful and I do think it matters,” she said.Committee members also heard that similar recognition programs already exist in Canada.Richard Tremblay, founding president of the Canadian Organ and Tissue Donors Association, noted that Quebec’s lieutenant governor has awarded a Good Samaritan medal to living organ donors for more than two decades.Since 2004, more than 400 living donors in Quebec have received the honour, he said.A Commons health committee previously heard that no other Commonwealth country has created a specific national honour dedicated exclusively to recognizing living organ donors.
