More than 4000 Canadians are sitting on an organ waitlist, and over 250 of them will die while waiting.

That from Kirstin Theis Novak, an Organ Tissue Donor Coordinator with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. To raise awareness and educate the public about organ donation, several health organizations are promoting the Leave Well campaign.

“The need for organs always outweighs the number of organs that become available. It is something that is always a critical shortage. In a person’s life, they are six times more likely to require an organ transplant than they are to become an organ donor,”

She says although many people might be registered organ donors, only a small percentage of them are eligible to donate once they die.

“It’s generally about 1-2 per cent. That’s because they need to be dying in a critical care setting, in a hospital, on life support. There also has to be a trial of every lifesaving treatment option.”

She adds that her goal is to decrease the stigma on the topic and get more people having the conversation about organ donation.

“It takes the pressure off your loved ones to have to try and think about what you may or may not want in your last days if that conversation has already been had.”

Those who wish to register can do at givelifesask.ca.