We can’t get the Beatles song Come Together out of our heads. It’s probably not super-appropriate, but it’s what we need to do for our friend Jim and his family. You need to sign up to be an organ donor and let those you love know and understand your intentions. You need to encourage everyone around you to sign up to be an organ donor.

While we hoped and prayed that Jim’s battle was finally won more than five years ago with a miraculous heart-transplant, it seems the battle has been renewed, as is sadly the case for many transplant patients. Over the past several months, Jim has faced many ups and downs in his health. Most recently, Jim was admitted to the Critical Care Unit at the Ottawa Heart Institute for urgent care. He is of course receiving the best treatment, but the reality is that the requirement for a new heart is imminent.

To face this road for the second time is beyond daunting. Have there been improvements to the organ donation system in Canada over the last five years? Yes. Are they enough to have shortened the waitlist for a heart transplant? No. Is there anything we can do to support Jim and the too many others waiting for the gift of life? Yes – we can come together right now to shout about organ donation to everyone and anyone. For today, you can add the be a donor link to all your social media profiles and share the Jim’s Hearts story. For tomorrow – we will come together to figure it out.

#jimshearts
#beadonor