Kids turning green for a cause

Kids turning green for a cause
East End students form living ribbon to encourage organ and tissue donation
Posted By Chelsey Romain, The Daily Press
Posted 1 day ago

It may be Earth Week, but students in the East End were green for another reason yesterday.

About 600 students from Roland Michener Secondary School and Golden Avenue Public School clad themselves in green ponchos to form a living ribbon to promote organ donor awareness. All participants held “Yes” cards, to further encourage donation.

The event was held in conjunction with National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week.

“This gets the younger people involved,” said Marlene Smith, president of the Kidney Foundation Timmins-Porcupine chapter. “And you hope they go home and talk to their families about their wishes.

“The younger students go home with their little green ribbons and that opens the doors for discussion.”

This is the second year RMSS hosted the living ribbon event. School organizer Sue Drummond said students were more than willing to participate.

“It’s important that students realize the value of organ donation,” said Drummond. “Our students are super empathetic to those suffering from cancer and other diseases ... and are always willing to help out.”

Drummond said the 600 students who formed the ribbon represent about a third of patients on donation transplant waiting lists. This doesn’t include the thousands who are still not on a waiting list.

“We’re a community school and we do what we can to help the community at large,” she said.

Smith said the hope is once the younger generation starts talking about the subject, there will be an increase in donations.

“If they’re lucky, they could receive a donation within six months,” she said. “But most people are waiting a year or two before they receive an organ.

“It’s not just for kidneys, but anything.”

Smith said those who are waiting for kidney donations are left with only two choices: Dialysis or death.

Patients on dialysis can still live their lives, but they spend a lot of time hooked up to a machine. They plan routines and vacations around their condition, making arrangements to receive dialysis in other communities before leaving town.

“On dialysis, a third of their life is taken up hooked to a machine. But without that machine, it means death,” said Smith. “Those are the only two options when your kidneys fail.”

But that wouldn’t be the case if more people signed on to become organ donors, she said.

Anyone interested in becoming an organ donor can register the decision on their health card or through the provincial donor registry.

Smith said it’s also important for organ donors to ensure family members are aware of their wishes.

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