Humboldt Bronco Logan Boulet inspired Canadians to become organ and tissue donors.
The fourth annual Green Shirt Day on Thursday, April 7 encourages Canadians to consider organ and tissue donation.
It was on April 7, 2018, following the fatal Humboldt Broncos bus crash that the parents of 21-year-old hockey player Logan Boulet made a fateful decision.
They chose to follow Logan’s wish to be an organ donor, saving the lives of six Canadians waiting for transplants.
News of Logan’s gifts of life inspired more than 150,000 Canadians to register as organ and tissue donors in the weeks following the crash.
To date, this is the largest number of Canadians registering to become organ donors in Canadian history due to one event — one person. It became known as the “Logan Boulet Effect.”
However, there is more work to be done, and more who could be inspired.
Since then and even more so during the pandemic, the number of new organ donor registrants has plateaued.
Donation rates across Canada and in Alberta are still low, with 4,100 Canadians waiting for an organ transplant.
Every year, on average, 250 people in Canada die because they do not get the life-saving organ they need.
One organ donor can save up to eight lives and one tissue donor can enhance the lives of 75 people.
In 2019, the family of Logan Boulet held the first annual Green Shirt Day in honour of their son Logan and the Bronco family.
“It is a privilege to honour Logan,” said Joyce Van Deurzen, executive director at The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Southern Alberta, and Saskatchewan Branch.
“He will be in our hearts as we stand with the Boulet family to advance the cause of organ donation. We are deeply grateful for their courage in sharing their story, and for the work they are doing.”
Seventy-seven per cent of Canadians waiting for an organ transplant are waiting for a kidney and the average wait time is four years.
Canadians are encouraged on April 7 to wear green and inspire conversations about the powerful and life-saving impact of organ donation.
“It’s about organ donation and awareness,” Logan’s father, Toby Boulet, said. “We’re not trying to raise any money, we’re just trying to get people aware and registered.”
Find out more about how you can participate at: https://kidney.ca/News-Media/Campaigns/Green-Shirt-Day.
