Logan Boulet Humanitarian of the Year awarded to Saskatoon surgeon, transplant team
Organ donation awareness, education key to saving lives
Everyone has the ability within themselves to literally change the world. That's one of the messages behind the Logan Boulet Humanitarian of the Year Award.
This year, Saskatoon transplant surgeon Dr. Michael Moser received the honour named for Boulet, the Humboldt Broncos hockey team player whose decision to be an organ donor helped save six lives, following the tragic 2018 bus crash.
At a small ceremony Thursday at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, Moser took the opportunity to remind people how important it is to talk about organ donation.
"Let's face it, talking about things related to death and dying is not something people generally like to do," he said. "But the more we get people talking about things like the [organ and tissue donor] registry, or things like presumed consent, then it's more likely they're going to have those important conversations with their families."
Moser was recognized for dedicating his career to transplant and oncology patients, and for his contributions to transplant outreach and public awareness programs.
He was present the first time the award was presented, in 2018, to posthumously recognize Boulet, and he was visibly surprised to receive the award this year.
"As a transplant surgeon over the years … I've seen just hundreds of examples of how much the gift of organ donation has — the difference that it's made in the lives of our patients," he said. "It truly is something that's life saving, that's life changing. It's what we refer to as the gift of life."
The Saskatchewan Transplant Team received the team award this year. Program co-directors Dr. Gavin Beck and Dr. Abubaker Hassan accepted the award on behalf of the team, which includes doctors, nurses, patient co-ordinators, social workers and lab technicians.
"Certainly in Saskatchewan, we have a focus with kidney [transplants], but we very much are involved with all of the organs and all of the patients in our province that need to be transplanted, and work very closely with other transplant programs across the country to make sure that our patients are transplanted safely," Beck said.
The Logan Boulet Humanitarian of the Year Award is part of the Angel's Legacy Project, in conjunction with the Dawne Switenky Memorial Foundation. The Prince Albert-based foundation was set up by Terry Switenky after his wife Dawne died while awaiting an organ transplant.
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