New fund to help northern Ontario transplant patients

There is a new fund available for patients from Northern Ontario who must relocate whilewaiting for anorgan transplant.

Patients on the wait list for organsmustbe living within a 200-kilometreradiusofone of thefive transplant centres in the province.

There are no transplant centres in Northern Ontario, so patients from this region must incur the cost of moving closer to where their surgeries will be performed.

Ontario transplant centres are located in Toronto, Hamilton, London, Kingston and Ottawa.

A new fund, created in honour of former Sudbury radio personalityRich Griffin, is meant to help these Northern Ontario patients

His widow, Nancy Griffin, said there are currently no local funds available to help with relocation costs.

She asked the Health Sciences North Foundationto createthe Rich Griffin Transplant Assistance Fund, which will be administered by theFoundation.

"You could be waiting for a week, a month, possibly years.It does vary widely," Griffin said. It's an average of$10,000per patient to relocate,she added.

$10,000 average to relocate while waiting for transplant

"Some people have had to turn down this life-saving surgery because they just don't have that kind of money." said Griffin.

Right now there is $2,500 cap per application to the fund.

Griffin expects the amount patients can accesswillincrease in the future, once more donations are added to the fund.

Fund to be launched at #1Saves8gala

The fund will officially be launched at the Rich Griffin #1Saves8Gala, to be held this Saturday night at the Holiday Inn.

Griffin was the morning show co-host for local Rogers radio station,KiSS105.3, before he passed away May 23, 2015.

He was an organ donor.

His heart, lungs, kidneys and liverwere donated to patients across the country who were all onthe transplant wait list.

Griffin'seyes, vessels and pancreas islets will be used in future transplants and research.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and six-year-old daughter Zoe.

Donations to the Rich Griffin Transplant Assistance Fundcan be made at 1Saves8.ca.

To registerto be an organ donor go toBeaDonor.ca