Sault Area Hospital recognized for organ donation efforts
Sault Area Hospital is being hailed as a champion of organ and tissue donation by the Trillium Gift of Life Network. The hospital is being recognized for its efforts to integrate organ and tissue donation into end-of-life care.
The hospital is being praised on two fronts: exceeding the provincial conversion rate of potential donors becoming actual donors, and for facilitating organ donation discussions with patients nearing end-of-life.
The hospital's director of clinical programs said the latter can be very challenging work for staff.
"It is not easy for the families and loved ones either, and I am quite proud of the work that we do here," said Mindy Lindstedt. "We do often get recognition and thanks from patients and families for how well we've navigated some of those conversations and made these decisions easier on them."
Lindstedt and the hospital are encouraging everyone to register to donate organs and tissue at BeADonor.ca.
Deanna Lynn knows the importance of organ donation, receiving a lung transplant in 2012. The Orillia native remembers what it was like to take her first breath with her new lung.
"I automatically filled with such joy, I can't explain it," said Lynn. "My whole being filled with such joy that I took my first breath without help."
Lynn said she had only months to live when she received her transplant, and is forever grateful to the donor's family. Getting a new lease on life included watching one of her sons get married.
"I was on oxygen when my eldest son got married and that was horrid, walking down the aisle holding oxygen and can't breathe," she said. "But the second son after my transplant ... I've had a baby granddaughter, my other son is getting married pretty soon, I've been travelling."
Meantime, officials at Sault Area Hospital said the city exceeds provincial donor numbers with a 48 per cent registration rate, placing the Soo at 73 out of 170 communities in Ontario.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.