Multi-Organ Transplant Program

News & Events

A variety of transplant announcements and special events, organized by the Multi-Organ Transplant Program and various community groups, take place throughout the year.

For news coverage and stories, please see our news coverage section.

Here are some upcoming events, but you may also want to check out the special events section to find out about some of our previous projects as well as annual events.

Upcoming Community Events

Torch of Life Walk, May 22, 2012

George Marcello, liver recipient and founder of this walk, and donor family member Khaled Khatib will arrive in London on Tuesday, May 22. Local secondary school students will join them as they walk to City Hall, 300 Dufferin Street. Mayor Fontana will greet the group and accept the torch on behalf of London. The mayor will welcome them to London, recognizing their tremendous effort in promoting greater awareness about life-saving transplantation as well as the online donor registry. This event is open to the public for anyone interested in attending at City Hall. For further information, please contact Jane Tucker (519.641.7549; tuckerjane@hotmail.com).

Organ Donor Awareness Event, June 16, 2012

The Canadian Transplant Association (CTA) will be holding an organ donor awareness event at an upcoming London Majors baseball game. More than 1,500 people in Ontario are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are waiting for a tissue transplant. You can help make a difference! Come out to cheer on the London Majors and support Organ Donor Awareness at the same time.

Date: Saturday, June 16

Game time: 7:30 pm

Location: Labatt Memorial Park, London

Tickets: Adults: $8; Children: $6; Family pass: $20 (2 adults, 2 children)

Contact: Cora Morningstar or Ann Wilkinson at oda.gameday@gmail.com.

Gift of 8 Campaign

During National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, the Ontario Minister of Health, Deb Matthews, launched the Gift of 8 campaign to encourage donor awareness. One organ donor can potentially save eight lives. Currently, only one in five people living in Ontario is a registered organ or tissue donor. In London, only 29 per cent of our eligible health card holders are currently registered. This campaign encourages Londoners to get their friends and family to register. For those who are interested in registering their wishes, you can go to https://beadonor.ca/london-transplant-gift-of-life-association. Please share this link with your work colleagues, your friends, family, and through social networking opportunities, and help spread the word.

Canadian Transplant Games, July 16-22, 2012

The Canadian Transplant Association (CTA) invites organ transplant recipients and their supporters to come to the 6th Canadian Transplant Games, which will be held in Calgary, Alberta, July 16-22, 2012. The Games are not focused on elite athletic performance, but rather the joy of being healthy enough to participate. It's about meeting other transplant recipients and the camaraderie and friendship that can develop from that common bond. The Games are Canada's largest organ donation awareness event - save the date and watch the CTA website for more details as they become available. If you have any questions about the Games, if you would like to volunteer, or you know someone who can help, please contact Jennifer Holman at jenniferholman@txworks.ca or Jody Yakubowski at jyakubowski@shaw.ca.

Showdown in the Downtown, September 22, 2012

This is a black tie affair - an evening of great food, refreshments, kickboxing and MMA, featuring Dr. Faisal Rehman. Held at the London Convention Centre, the event is in support of the Matthew Mailing Centre for Translational Transplant Studies, the Kidney Clinical Research Unit, and The London Health Sciences Foundation. For more information, visit www.showdowninthedowntown.com.

Amar Karma Organ Donation Society: Looking for volunteers

This organization is recruiting volunteers to help spread the word about organ donation. Several positions are available, including event manager, volunteer coordinator, graphic designer, photographer/videographer and others. See the flyer for more details. You can contact the Society by phone (416.444.4803) or by e-mail (actions@amarkarma.org), or visit www.amarkarma.org.

London Transplant Gift of Life Association: Do you want to volunteer?
This local group is looking for more volunteers to help with various awareness initiatives. Transplant patients, living donors, donor families as well as interested public, students and Hospital staff are invited to join. Please contact Jane Tucker (519.641.7549; tuckerjane@hotmail.com) for more information about their meeting schedule and upcoming projects. Currently, the group is working towards creating a second Gift of Life Recipient Quilt and Gift of Life Donor Quilt. These quilts travel throughout the province, and the patches are a beautiful way to share personal experiences about donation and transplantation. If you are a transplant recipient, living donor, or donor family, please consider taking part by creating a patch and telling your story.

Volunteers needed for new Cardiac Device Committee
This committee is working towards raising funds to purchase implantable pumps, which will help support patients with end-stage heart failure at University Hospital, LHSC. The Hospital’s heart transplant team has already successfully used the Impella Ventricular Assist Device, the world’s smallest heart pump. The pump acts as a ‘bridge’ to transplant by maintaining a patient’s heart until a donated organ becomes available. Dr. Bob Kiaii, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Mac Quantz, Director of Cardiac Transplantation, and the heart transplant team are now working towards expanding this life-saving device program. These devices are considered part of standard care for patients with heart failure. The committee welcomes whatever help you’re able to provide. Regardless of your geographical location, you can become involved, for example, by holding a fundraising event in your local community with the proceeds to the Cardiac Device Program. Committee meetings will be determined soon. For more information or to confirm your participation, please e-mail: cardiacdevice@hotmail.com.