Give Life Alberta is dedicated to increasing awareness about organ and tissue donation - and access to life-saving transplants. Registering as a donor can save lives - and restore the quality of life - of hundreds of people in Alberta each year.
You need to register your decision to donate either online or at a motor vehicle registry office, even if you signed the back of your health care card, to ensure the information is recorded with Alberta Health.
Thousands of Canadians, including hundreds of Albertans, are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant; however, only 1-2% of people can be potential organ donors upon their death. It's in the numbers: when more people donate, more lives are saved.
One organ donor can save up to 8 lives.
Each year, dozens of people in Alberta die while waiting for a transplant.
Almost everyone can be considered for tissue donation.
One tissue donor can help heal up to 75 people, with life-changing gifts such as eyes, bone, skin and heart valves.
You need to register your decision to donate.
Even if you've signed the back of your health care card, you need to register online or at a motor vehicle registry office to ensure the information is recorded with Alberta Health.
There are many myths about organ and tissue donation.
For example, “I'm too old or too unhealthy to donate.” The truth is, age or medical condition does not necessarily exclude you as a potential donor.
See more myths below in the FAQs
Our public awareness campaign ‘All the Ways’ encourages Albertans to share their organ and tissue donation decision with their families, in case they are ever asked to give consent. The discussion doesn’t have to be grim. Use this video to spark the conversation.
If the time comes that you are eligible to donate, donor coordinators will check the Alberta Health registry to confirm your decision and inform your family.
Register your decision online, even if you've signed the back of your health care card to be a donor.
Talk with your family about your decision. It's much easier for grieving families to honour and respect their loved ones' donation decision if they know it's what they wanted.
Remember, you can choose what is and isn't donated. The donation process, and family involvement, is respectful and dignified.
Learn about the Donation Process
Deceased Donor
Living Donor
Replaces a full heart or damaged / diseased valves impacted by heart disease and other factors.
Replaces lungs with severe damage caused by cystic fibrosis, emphysema and more.
Treats liver failure due to hepatitis B, cirrhosis and more.
Gives a healthy kidney to someone with severe chronic kidney disease.
Gives a healthy pancreas to make up for one that no longer produces insulin.
Replaces part of a damaged small intestine, affected by severe Crohn's disease and more.
Replaces damaged cornea and sclera due to trauma or disease.
Speeds up healing process for serious burns, and can be life-saving.
Replaces bones destroyed by cancer and other trauma, and repairs joints using tendons.
Aids in healing serious burns, sores and other wounds.
Hover to see what each donation can do. Remember, you can choose what is and isn't donated. The donation process, and family involvement, is respectful and dignified.
Replaces a full heart or damaged / diseased valves impacted by heart disease and other factors.
Replaces lungs with severe damage caused by cystic fibrosis, emphysema and more.
Treats liver failure due to hepatitis B, cirrhosis and more.
Gives a healthy kidney to someone with severe chronic kidney disease.
Gives a healthy pancreas to make up for one that no longer produces insulin.
Replaces part of a damaged small intestine, affected by severe Crohn's disease and more.
Replaces damaged cornea and sclera due to trauma or disease.
Speeds up healing process for serious burns, and can be life-saving.
Replaces bones destroyed by cancer and other trauma, and repairs joints using tendons.
Aids in healing serious burns, sores and other wounds.
Deceased Donor
Living Donor
Living Donor Services are active in both Edmonton at the University of Alberta Hospital, and in Calgary at the Foothills Medical Centre.
There can be many questions when it comes to donating organs and tissues. Our FAQs aim to educate and dispel myths.
MYTH: I'm too old or too unhealthy to donate.
TRUTH: Don't count yourself out! A medical condition or serious illness does not necessarily exclude you as a potential donor. All cases are evaluated on an individual basis when the time comes.
MYTH: Hospital staff will not try as hard to save my life if they know I agreed to be an organ and tissue donor.
TRUTH: Saving a patient's life is a medical professional's first priority. It's only after every attempt has been made to save a patient, and death has been declared, that the donation process begins.
MYTH: If I donate, my family can't have an open casket at my funeral.
TRUTH: Surgeons take great care to allow families to have an open casket funeral for their loved ones.
MYTH: Donor ethnicity makes no difference.
TRUTH: The chance of longer-term survival may be greater if the donor and recipient are closely matched in terms of their shared genetic background. Therefore the more people who register to donate, the better a recipient's chances are of a match that leads to a longer life.
MYTH: If I register to donate, I will have to donate my entire body.
TRUTH: You can choose which specific organs and/or tissues you'd like to donate by registering online.
MYTH: There are added expenses for those who decide to donate organs and/or tissues.
TRUTH: There is no cost to the donor or to the donor's family for organ and tissue donation. Alberta Health covers all medical expenses. Organ and tissue donation is considered an act of altruistic generosity. It is illegal to sell organs or tissues in Canada.
Organ donor to 5 Patients
Zachary Trimm's road test was scheduled for his 16th birthday. Instead, he donated his organs that day, saving five lives.
Heart Valve Donor
Karter’s parents refused to let him pass away for no reason; they wanted their tragedy to help others. Karter's heart valves saved two babies who had heart defects.
Liver Recipient
Tony is deeply grateful for the decision that saved his life, “It gave me another chance at living… Without them I wouldn't be here.”
Registering your decision is a vital step in becoming an organ and tissue donor. You can save
up to 8 lives, and profoundly improve the quality of life of up to 75 people.
Every October, Canadian Blood Services hosts Orgtober, an educational campaign in elementary schools aimed at promoting organ and tissue donation. It encourages early education, family discussions, and celebrates the fundamental values that underpin donation (kindness, compassion, and inclusivity) in a fun way.
Celebrate Orgtober with the Orgamites, Give Life Alberta is participating in Orgtober by bringing the book, The Ant Who Needed a Transplant, to Edmonton-area schools.
The Canada-wide Green Shirt Day honours the legacy of Logan Boulet, and the ripple effect of his organ donation, following the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan.
National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW) raises awareness about the critical need for more donors across the country and encourages Canadians to register their decision and to talk to their loved ones about organ donation.
Living Donation Week, launched in 2020 by the Centre for Living Organ Donation with support from the transplant community, invites the community annually, to come together, celebrate, and spread awareness about this life-changing gift and those who make it possible.
Give Life Alberta (GLA) is the organ and tissue donation program in the province of Alberta, Canada. Services are provided using a collaborative approach by specialized teams in Edmonton and Calgary. GLA's mission is to optimize patient and family care related to organ and tissue donation, to uphold responsible stewardship of the gifts of organs and tissues, and to enhance access to transplantation.
Successful inspections by Health Canada have demonstrated strict adherence to all transplantation safety standards.
Healthcare Professionals Only
For immediate assistance with matters relating to organ and tissue referral please call the University of Alberta Hospital Switchboard @ 780-407-8822 and ask for the on-call Donor Coordinator or contact CTC Tissue Specialist on-call via RAAPID at 780-735-0811.
General Inquiries Related to Organ and Tissue Donation
Give Life Alberta
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Telephone: 403-910-2801
Email: GiveLifeAlberta@ahs.ca
Living Donor Services Edmonton and Area
Telephone: 780-407-8698
Tollfree: 1-866-253-6833
Email: livingdonors@ahs.ca
Healthcare Professionals Only
For immediate assistance with matters relating to organ and tissue referral please call the Foothills Medical Centre, Main Switchboard @ 403-944-1110 and ask for the on-call Donor Coordinator to be paged.
General Inquiries Related to Organ and Tissue Donation
Give Life Alberta
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Telephone: 403-910-2801
Email: GiveLifeAlberta@ahs.ca
Living Donor Services Calgary and Area
Telephone: 403-944-4635
