NIAGARA, Ontario - The media is invited to attend the second annual Living Green Ribbon event at the Greater Niagara General Site of the Niagara Health System (NHS) on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, to help raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donations.
The Living Green Ribbon event will be held rain or shine in the area adjacent to the Allied Health Building, North Street, in Niagara Falls, 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Parking will be available in the Allied Health lot; carpooling is encouraged. Green ponchos will be provided on site.
NHS, in conjunction with Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), is inviting all members of the public to participate in the Living Green Ribbon formation, and is encouraging participants to invite their colleagues, friends and neighbours. An aerial photo of the formation will be taken.
There will be a brief opportunity for speeches, followed by the Living Green Ribbon formation. Speakers will be NHS President and CEO Debbie Sevenpifer, a donor family from St. Catharines, and a Fort Erie mother and her seven-year-old son, who is a heart transplant recipient.
Last year, as a result of efforts in Niagara, five people received life saving organs, 92 people received the gift of sight through eye donations, and more than 300 people received the benefits from tissue donations, including skin, bone and heart valves. There are currently 1,665 people on the transplant waiting list in Ontario, 54 of them from Niagara. One organ donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue donation.
Niagara's Living Green Ribbon event is part of National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week in Ontario. Communities across Ontario will be holding similar Living Green Ribbon events during the week of April 19 - 26. Help us make Niagara's Living Green Ribbon the largest in Ontario!
The Green Awareness Ribbon is an international symbol of support for organ and tissue donation. Green symbolizes hope for those who are waiting for a second chance at life through transplantation; a reminder of the men, women and children who have died waiting for a life-saving transplant; and a thank you to donors and their families for giving the greatest gift of all, the gift of life so that another could live on.
