In honour of one Humboldt Broncos player, a new national campaign is urging people to wear a green shirt and register as an organ donor.
Green Shirt Day is taking place across Canada on April 7, the anniversary of Logan Boulet’s death. The young hockey player sustained fatal injuries in the April 6, 2018, crash between a semi truck and the Broncos team bus, and was taken off life support the next day.
Boulet decided to register as an organ donor on his 21st birthday, just five weeks before his death.
When Logan originally talked to his father, Toby Boulet, about registering as an organ donor, Toby was quick to change the subject.
“I'm his father and I didn't want to talk about death. I don't think very many people want to talk about death with their young son,” he said. “(Logan) understood that you have to be a giver, not a taker. And he got that very clearly.”
After talking with his son, Toby agreed with Logan’s decision.
In the five days after Logan’s death, new registrations with the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation registry surged. The registry, which usually has around 2,500 registrations per week, saw 12,704.
In the following weeks, more than 100,000 Canadians signed up to become organ donors, creating the “Logan Boulet Effect”.
“It makes us feel very proud and very honoured,” Toby said.
Toby hopes people will participate in Green Shirt Day not just for his son, but for the other people who died or were injured in the crash.
Scott Raypold, who teaches Grade 6 at J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary School, said he had plans to promote Green Shirt Day at the school. He has been an organ donor as long as he can remember.
“I've always tried to teach my students and my own kids, just that idea of true giving and, you know, not expecting anything in return,” he said.
For him, being a registered organ donor is an important way to give back. While he didn’t know Logan, he did teach St. Albert's Jaxon Joseph for two years. Joseph played alongside Boulet and was one of the players who died in the crash.
Brenda Brown, president of the Canadian Transplant Association, the organization behind Green Shirt Day, said people can purchase special shirts through their website, or wear any green shirt of their choosing.
Brown is encouraging people to post a photo on social media wearing a green shirt and use the hashtag #LoganBouletEffectGreenShirtDay.
Resident Victoria Laird became a registered donor as soon as she turned 18. Now she’s convinced her husband to register, and hopes her two young children will become donors when they get older.
Laird said she grew up in a house where donating was important.
“I imagine it came from my grandpa. He used to say, ‘Do whatever you want with my body, why would I care – I'll be dead,’ ” she said. “I started donating blood in high school and I pushed for my husband to start when I was pregnant with our second child.”
In Laird’s mind, she would rather die knowing her organs were helping others.
Dennis Djogovic, medical director of Alberta’s Human Organ Procurement and Exchange Program, said one person can save up to eight lives. Tissue donations can impact up to 80 people.
“I think the Logan Boulet Effect ... encourages people in the community to discuss amongst themselves and their family, friends and neighbours: What would the value (be), what would they want done in a situation like that?”
Djogovic said national surveys indicate 90 per cent of Canadians agree with organ donation but only 20 per cent are registered. As to why the number is so low, he said it comes down to discussions with family members.
Becoming a registered donor comes with a lot of questions, such as whether someone is eligible to donate, or how doctors will treat them in a life-or-death situation.
To help with some of those questions, the Green Shirt Day has created a FAQ page with answers on its website, https://greenshirtday.ca/.
For more information, visit their website or check out their Facebook page.
