Health Sciences North awarded for organ, tissue donation work

Morgan Jorgenson's mom would have celebrated her 55th birthday this week. Instead, Jorgenson is honouring her memory and celebrating her decision to be a registered organ donor.

"It's the end for someone, in this case it was my mom. But for somebody else, it might just be the beginning of something special for them," Jorgenson says.

The Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) awarded Health Sciences North (HSN) with two awards on Monday for their work on organ and tissue donations.

The hospital received an award for exceeding their conversion rate targetand another award for doing so forfour or more consecutive years.

A conversion rate is the percentage of people who actually donated out of the number of people who could have potentially donated organs or tissues.

For HSN, that means 69 per cent of potential donors actually donated organs or tissue during the 2015-16 year. Their target rate was 67 per cent.

Talk it out with family

For Jorgenson, these numbers translate into hope for other families. She's a registered nurse in HSN's intensive care unit. When her mom died in 2013, Jorgenson says organ donation was the last thing on her mind. But when TGLNapproached her and her father, Jorgenson says they wanted to respect her mother's wishes.

"That's an important thing for families is to try their best to be comfortable with [organ donation]," Jorgenson says. "I've seen situations where people revoke the donor's wishes as a result of their own discomfort. We went ahead with it and we don't have any regrets."

Donors live in the North

North Bay has the highest organ donor registration rate in Ontario, according to HSN and TGLN.That city is followed by Parry Sound, then Greater Sudbury. According to HSN, seven out of the top 10 communities for organ donor registration rates are located in north-eastern Ontario.

Jorgenson says Christmas has been tough on her family since her mother died. But knowing her organs have helped others adds a different perspective to the holidays.

"At the beginning, you don't really know what to make of it,but it's so worthwhile," Jorgenson says. "In those moments where you're feeling sorry for yourself, you feel happy when you think of the people who've gotten a second chance because of the donations."

The TGLN and HSN report one organ or tissue donation could save up to eight lives. You can register to be a donor online.