Edmonton man cycles across Canada to spread organ donation awareness

Every day this summer, Ron Hahn is cycling 90 kilometres to showCanadians the difference a kidney can make.

The Edmonton man, an organ recipient, is on a coast-to-coast,8600-kilometre trip to spread organ donation awareness.

Hahn, whose kidneys started failing in 2004, received a donationfrom his father two years later a gift with a "miraculous"impact.

"Renal failure is feeling like a hangover. You've got aheadache, you've got no energy," he said via phone in Sault Ste.Marie, Ont., about halfway through his trip.

"But as I was waking up from the surgery, I could feel thedifference... You feel amazing. You just want to get up out of the bed and start running around."

On a typical day, Hahn gets up at 7 a.m. and rides with a bicycle and camping gear that weigh about 45 kilograms in total.

He breaks the day into two halves, usually stopping for lunch ata diner, telling his story to fellow patrons. Hahn said he talks toabout 10 people daily in rural areas, and many more in largecommunities.

Planning to donate organs after death where most transplantscome from is a difficult topic that many simply never broachbecause it deals with their own mortality, Hahn said.

Thousands on waiting lists

According to the latest report from the Canadian Institute forHealth Information, 3,428 people were on the waiting list forkidneys in Canada in 2012, while only 1,358 transplants wereperformed that year.

And the same year, 84 people on the waiting list died before receiving their kidneys.

Dr. Julian Midgley, national president of the Kidney Foundationof Canada, said donor shortage often stems from lack of information an opinion underscored by the high donation rates among people whowork in the medical field.

A study published last month in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association shows organ donation rates among Ontario doctorsare about twice those of the general public.

Midgley said doctors, through their work, are often more privy towhat those in need of organs are going through.

"They may also be more aware of the issues regarding organdonation," he added. "Some people may not want to donate becausethey believe in myths: if you're an organ donor, you're more likely not be looked after properly -- things like that."

Midgley said the key to getting more donors would be activities that raise awareness such as Hahn's journey -- putting organ donation"on the minds of people."

Hahn's trip started June 5 in Tofino, B.C., and is expected to end in September in St. John's, N.L. His journey can be tracked onsparepartstour.com.