This post is one that is very close to my heart because I am a kidney transplant recipient from a living donor – last week I had my 5th birthday. My Third Transplant

My third transplant was a chain just like the one Shelley was involved in.

Today for this reason an extra big big BIG thank you for reading my blog today, consider it my birthday gift ♥♥♥

Shelley is a regular Mom who dotes on her boys

I remember the first time I sat down and visited with Shelley Hunt, it was a decade ago.

It was summer time and a hot Okanagan day, her two adorable little boys were splashing and enjoying the waterpark down at Skaha lake. I chatted with her as we sat on a bench and watched them splash and laugh.

At that time she was waiting to donate one of her kidneys to a young boy thousands of miles away and she told me how she was making sure that she was super healthy to give him the best kidney ever!

Shelley loves to hike and be outdoors and she was doing it all while getting ready to give a gift that he could never hope to repay.

It was a conversation that I would never forget.

Shelley said she’d been accepted into an organ donation chain that had her attached to a five-year-old boy in Langley.

Shelley was not a medical match to the boy in Ontario, but when one of her kidneys goes to her recipient, it will trigger someone else’s donation to the boy in Ontario that she wanted to donate to.

“The chains can actually be quite long and complex, but it usually consists of six pairings,” she explained,

Shelley said it all began with a pamphlet in the mail

Shelley said it started in March 2012 when she spotted a pamphlet about organ donation in her junk mail and she decided to research the subject.

“I never look through my junk mail and so it was exactly the right time in my life,”

When she learned of the huge need that exists for organ donors, she knew she’d just heard her calling and what she wanted to do.

She began by organizing some community events, such as the Wishmakers Walk and annual Easter egg hunt at LocoLanding to sign up organ donors but wanted to take on something bigger.

“I was really looking for something that was a lot more direct. I didn’t want to just hand over a cheque to somebody; I wanted to be involved in something,”

The Project Vision was born after she met Jess,

The Because I Can project began when she posted on Facebook a video she made with her son about the need for organ donors.

Co-founder Jess Royan, a casual acquaintance at the time, got in touch with her and “literally within 24 hours we decided we were going to start a national campaign,”

Because I Can – The Project

The “BECAUSE I CAN” project tells Shelley’s story but its overall goal is to raise awareness for all the other people waiting for a transplant.

In British Columbia 95% of the population supports organ donation while only 21% have registered their decision to be an organ donor. And get this fact I didn’t realize – Only 3 in 1000 registered donors will die in a way that allows for deceased organ donation.

But change and awareness is growing and that’s part of the Project.

Nova Scotians already have the opportunity to be organ donors unless they opt out.

Nova Scotia has the highest rate of organ and tissue donor registration in the country, but donation rates could still be higher.

In Nova Scotia everyone is a potential donor, and will be automatically referred to donation programs to determine if they are good candidates. 

Not Based on a True Story – It is a true story !

The documentary is amazing to watch, and I truly hope you will ♥

Here is the link – watch ten minutes or as much as you want. If you can. BECAUSE I CAN – TELUS ORIGINAL LINK

♥Hugs, David

BE AN ORGAN DONOR – Because you Can! link here to learn more

Organ donation includes kidneys, pancreas, heart, liver, lungs and small bowel. Tissue donation includes cornea (tissue that covers the front of the eye), sclera (white part of the eye), skin, bones, tendons and heart valves. 

A single organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and a single tissue donor can help up to 75 people.

You’re 6 times more likely to need a transplant than become an organ donor.