Public Awareness - National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week

Looking ahead... a new vision for NOTDAW 2023

Campaign launch partner information session: March 22, 2023 

We are pleased to share that you can now register for the March 22 Community Forum, which will be hosted by Kim McMullen of Flipside to outline the marketing plan for the Leave Well campaign. Partners will have access to a full marketing package, and this session will outline what’s in it, how to use it to support your efforts, how and when to customize with your logo, and much more!

Project overview

A new national, collaborative campaign platform and approach for National Organ and Tissue Donation Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW) is in development. A renewed vision for 2023-2027 brings the community together to inspire Canadians.In collaboration with the Public Education and Awareness Committee (PEAC) and its Community Forum, and following 25 years of dedicated campaigning for organ and tissue donation, NOTDAW will enter a new campaign era. 

Background

National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW) raises awareness about the critical need for more donors across the country.

It’s an opportunity to recognize those who have donated to save others, celebrate those who have received lifesaving transplants, and inspire Canadians to learn about organ and tissue donation, talk to their families about their decisions, and register their intent to become organ and tissue donors.

Bill C-202, enacting National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Canada was passed unanimously by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology on Feb. 4, 1997. The bill was brought forward by former Liberal Member of Parliament Dan McTeague. The last full week of April was chosen to mark the occasion and to commemorate the death of Stuart Herriott, a toddler killed in a motor vehicle incident in McTeague’s riding of Pickering-Scarborough East. Parents of two-and-a-half-year-old Herriott donated his organs and, in turn, helped to save and improve the lives of four others. McTeague says the intent of the bill was to encourage education and awareness about donation and allow Parliament to take a leadership role in addressing the scarcity of organs and thinking about those who die every year waiting for a transplant.