Joan and John Fisher on their wedding day. The two met when they were 17 during orientation week at Memorial University, and remained together until John’s death. (Submitted by Joan Fisher)
Fisher and her husband were together for close to 42 years before he died, and she still misses him dearly.
“He was pretty special. He’s part of me. I hear his voice every day,” she said.
But she takes comfort in knowing that even after his passing, he’s doing what he always loved: helping people.
“It’s like he’s still out there,” she said. “Lots of parts of him are still out there with other people, and he’s still helping.”
Demand for organ donations not being met
Hearing from the recipient of a loved one’s organ can mean a lot for a donor family, said Dr. Andrew Healey, provincial medical director for organ and tissue donation with the Trillium Gift of Life Network.
“It sort of continues the legacy of that person who has died and given this tremendous gift. It might lighten their process of grief in some way,” he said.
Not everyone chooses to communicate, Healey said. It can often be a challenging time for both the grieving family and the organ recipient, who will be recovering and healing post-surgery.
Even if a donor family doesn’t receive letters from a recipient, the Trillium Gift of Life Network will share with them which organs were donated, and the general age range of the people who received them.
“We ensure they understand that the recipients are deeply grateful for this new gift of life that they’ve received, and that’s expressed to these families on an ongoing basis,” Healey said.
In Ontario, more than 1,100 people are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and thousands more would benefit from tissue donation.
With around 35 per cent of Ontarians registered as donors, the demand for organ transplants isn’t being met, Healey said.
“It’s something that we really encourage others to talk about with their families, and to register their consent so their families don’t have to make another difficult decision at a time of tragedy.”