Taryn Svenson has seen both sides of the organ donor process.
Her brother-in-law waited two years for a kidney before he died and consented to donate his own organs, without ever receiving the kidney he needed.
“We were advised that only approximately 15 people in Saskatchewan each year come forward and want to consent to donate their loved ones organs,” Svenson told CTV News. “That number is way too low.”
She works with the Angels Legacy Project, an organization that brings awareness and education of organ donation in Saskatchewan.
They provide cards that secure a person’s decision to be an organ donor; their parents can’t opt out.
Svenson says the issue with organ donor stickers from the province is that they aren’t legally binding. Family members can choose not to donate their loved ones’ organs even if the deceased has the sticker.
The auction of a twice-donated cow has raised $6,400 for the group.
Svenson hopes to establish charity cows at auctions across the province in the coming months and years.
