Marine Unit Helps Give the Gift of Life

On a busy Friday afternoon during rush hour on the roads, the Peel Regional Police Marine Unit helped surgeons transport life-saving organs from Hamilton to downtown Toronto and then on to a waiting recipient at the hospital.

With the onset of the summer weather, the roadways in and around the Greater Toronto Area tend to see an increased amount of cars, which makes for a slow commute. This poses a challenge for doctors as organ transplants are time sensitive and require quick action on the part of surgeons to ensure the organ is accepted by the recipients body.

In partnership with Trillium Gift of Life Network, transports by Peel Regional Police happen about six times a year and for officers in the Marine Unit, it’s something they’re proud to be a part of. “Having the opportunity to help someone receive the gift of life is an amazing feeling.  I’ve heard from numerous doctors that having the Marine Unit assist in transporting organs, has been invaluable and has certainly helped save lives” said Sgt. Greg Teague of the Marine Unit.

Here at Peel Regional Police, we hold annual registration drives for our employees to sign up to be a donor and to date, almost 2000 of our employees have registered. Since 2004, almost 18,000 people have been recipients of organ transplants in Ontario. As of March 31, 2019, there are 1,684 Ontario residents who are still waiting for an organ donation. Out of the 12.5 million people who are eligible to be a donor, only 4.2 million people have registered to do so.

You can make a difference.

To learn more about how one donor can save up to eight lives and to register, visit beadonor.ca.

To learn more about the Trillium Gift of Life network, visit their website.