Grant: CIHR Fellowship

One organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Unfortunately, many Canadians die while waiting for a transplant because there are not enough available organs. Canadians are encouraged to register to donate their organs; however less than 25% of the public in most provinces have registered. Based on previous research, we identified that targeting patients attending family physician offices could increase organ and tissue donation for multiple reasons: 1) they are a trusted source for information; 2) patients have their health card number readily available to register for organ donation; 3) patients are ready to think about health issues and wellbeing while in the waiting room. Working together with Trillium Gift of Life Network (Ontario's organ procurement organization), my program of research aims to plan, develop and test an intervention in physician offices to increase organ and tissue donor registration (OTDR). The ultimate goal of this research is to create and evaluate an intervention that can increase the number of individuals registered for organ donation, thereby decreasing the number of individuals waiting for an organ waitlist.