Right now there are about 4,500 Canadians who are waiting for an organ transplant. Sadly, about 250 people in Canada can die in a year waiting for a transplant, and many of these lives would be saved if we all registered to donate. In the past few years, many provinces have moved their organ donation registries online, where you can make your wishes to be a donor known in just a couple of minutes. When you sign up, you could be saving up to eight lives. It’s quite literally the easiest way to save a life. Yet many people, for whatever reason, haven't registered. Currently, just a fraction of Canadians are donors. In Ontario, it’s 25 percent, while more than 1,500 Ontarians in need of organs wait on the list. Beadonor.ca has made a goal to register 275,000 potential donors between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. Meanwhile, Canada as a whole has a problem with a lack of diversity in donors. Though we’re a diverse country and any one of us could need an organ at any time, the list of donors does not match our population in diversity, and it can be hard to find a tissue match depending on your ethnicity. [HTML1] No matter where you’re from, spend a few minutes looking at the reasons to donate and the registration process in your province. It’s well worth your time. Organ donation resources by province: Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia Ontario Quebec Prince Edward Island Saskatchewan Yukon Read an inspiring story of someone who benefitted from a donor heart.