Kate Chong was diagnosed with end stage renal failure almost 15 years ago.
When it became clear that the Coquitlam resident needed a new kidney, the search started for a living kidney donor.
As fate would have it, though, Kate’s husband Brian, whom she married only a year before her diagnosis, was a perfect match.
Now eight years, and two children later, Kate now works for the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and the family returns to hospitals across the Lower Mainland to thank the staff through Operation Popcorn for all the work they do to help organ donors and their recipients.
This is the Chong family’s third year thanking staff together.
“It’s very nice to be able to go and acknowledge all the hospitals that are providing the support for all the kidney patients across the province,” said Brian.
He said he has talked to a lot of people who are uncertain or worried about what takes place when donating a kidney.
Brian noted his life has hardly changed, except for now having two amazing children.
“I’m now eight years later and I would say if I could do it again I would donate again, but unfortunately I can’t. I need one to keep me going,” he laughed.
Sandra Bazley, in-hospital coordinator with Fraser Health, said that out of the 34 years Operation Popcorn has been taking place, this is her 15th year taking part.
“I feel very privileged to do this every year,” she said.
“Just to know what happens to our patients and to know that we have good outcomes and people are healthy living their lives, it’s a great reminder,” she said.
There were three big, bright, red boxes of popcorn waiting to be delivered to staff in three departments at Ridge Meadows Hospital – the Emergency Department, the Operating Room, and the Intensive Care Unit.
Every year, the popcorn is well received.
Director of clinical operations at Ridge Meadows Hospital, Heather Symons, noted it is such an important time to recognize donors and that they get to meet the staff and understand the impact that they have on the community.
“And I think too for families, I mean it’s so tough when they struggle with the loss of a loved one, but knowing they are giving the gift of life or improved quality of life, is so amazing. So, we are super passionate about that here at Ridge,” added hospital executive director Luauna McCartney.
For BC Transplant and staff at hospitals across the province, Operation Popcorn kicks off the holiday season.
This year more than 75 volunteer transplant recipients, living donors, and families of deceased donors dropped off more than 5,000 packages of popcorn to intensive care units, emergency departments, operating rooms, transplant units, transplant clinics, and transplant pharmacies, and shared their transplant stories with the health care staff.
“Most British Columbians support organ donation, yet only one in three have actually registered their decision,” said Eric Lun, BC Transplant’s executive director.
However, thanks to Bill C-210, adopted in 2021, which allowed the Canada Revenue Agency to ask taxpayers, for the first time ever, if they wanted to receive information about organ donation by email from their provincial or territorial government.
This past spring, BC Transplant received more than a million positive responses on tax return forms from people who wanted more information about organ donation.
And, according to BC Transplant, last month more than 12,000 people registered their decision to donate their organs across the province.
As of November 6, there are 1,617,709 British Columbians with a registered decision in the Organ Donor Registry.
To either verify or register as an organ donor go to either: checkyourdecision.ca or registeryourdecision.ca.