Canadians who donate organs to save the lives of others will be eligible for a national recognition medal under a Conservative private member's bill unanimously approved by the Senate.Blacklock's Reporter says Bill C-234, An Act Respecting The Establishment And Award Of A Living Donor Recognition Medal, cleared the Senate Tuesday after receiving unanimous support in the House of Commons.The legislation would establish a national medal recognizing Canadians who voluntarily donate an organ without receiving financial compensation.Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif (Edmonton Manning), who donated an organ himself, introduced the legislation to recognize living donors and raise awareness about organ transplantation.Aboultaif told Parliament approximately 4,600 Canadians are waiting for organ transplants.Sen. David Wells (Newfoundland and Labrador), who sponsored the legislation in the Senate, said living organ donors deserve national recognition for making extraordinary personal sacrifices to help others.“This is not a Conservative issue, a Liberal issue or an issue belonging to any political party,” Wells told senators.“It’s a Canadian issue that speaks to values that unite us: compassion, generosity, service, and a willingness to help others, sometimes at a considerable personal cost.”Wells described living organ donation as “one of the clearest expressions of selflessness in our society.”He said thousands of Canadians and their families face uncertainty while waiting for life-saving transplants.“Behind every Canadian waiting for a transplant is an individual and a family with uncertainty: parents waiting for their children, spouses hoping for more time together, people whose lives have been interrupted by illness,” Wells said.Senators were told no other Commonwealth country has established a specific national honour recognizing living organ donors.The proposed medal would be awarded to individuals who have donated an organ without profiting from the procedure..Aboultaif previously told the Commons that organ donors receive no financial payment for their donations, making their contributions especially deserving of recognition.“Living donors are not paid and are not allowed to be compensated for their donations, and this is a good thing,” he said.“They have freely given what they can to save the life of another. It is a priceless gift.”The Edmonton MP said the legislation was partly inspired by conversations with transplant recipients who believed their donors deserved more formal recognition.“A transplant recipient once said to me, ‘I just don’t feel that a thank you card is enough; I wish we could do a proper job of recognizing them,’” Aboultaif recalled.The proposal also received support from living organ donors who appeared before a Senate committee studying the legislation.Shelley Hunt of Penticton, B.C., who donated a kidney, told senators the medal would help raise awareness about living donation and encourage Canadians to learn more about the process.“I think this is an easy, beautiful thing for Canada to say yes to,” Hunt testified.Hunt acknowledged she had never expected or sought recognition for donating her kidney.“When I first heard about the idea of a medal for living donors my first thought, if I’m honest, was I certainly don’t need one,” she said.However, Hunt said she supported initiatives that could bring greater public attention to organ donation.“That said, I will always participate in anything that brings living donation to the forefront because living donation is such an important thing,” she said.Hunt explained she first learned about the possibility of becoming a living organ donor after receiving an informational pamphlet.“I made the decision to donate because information landed in my lap in the form of a pamphlet. I learned about something I did not know existed,” she said.Committee witnesses also pointed to an existing recognition program in Quebec as an example of how organ donors can be honoured.Richard Tremblay, founding president of the Canadian Organ and Tissue Donors Association, said Quebec's lieutenant-governor has recognized living organ donors with a Good Samaritan medal for more than two decades.“Since 2004 more than 400 living donors have been honoured and have received the Good Samaritan medal,” Tremblay told senators.The federal legislation would establish a similar honour at the national level, recognizing Canadians whose donations have helped transplant recipients survive serious illnesses.The unanimous parliamentary support reflects cross-party agreement on recognizing living donors and encouraging greater public awareness of organ transplantation.With both chambers having approved Bill C-234, the legislation requires royal assent to become law.
