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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Tuesday, February 28, 2012 OPINION Dismal donation stats Generally Canadians are looked upon as a giving people. In times of natural disaster abroad or conflict, we often are among the first to lend a hand. Even on a local level we consider ourselves to be selfless, often eagerly contributing to any cause in a myriad of ways. Why then, when it comes to organ donation, do we have an abysmal record? Last week, a report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), showed donor rates have stagnated in the country since 2006 and thousands of Canadians languish on wait lists for organs that may never come. Public awareness campaigns and countless stories of grateful organ recipients have done little to help increase organ donation in Canada. The numbers-- or lack of-- are both disheartening and staggering: · In 2010 there were 1,022 organ donors (which led to 2,103 transplant procedures) an increase of only five donors (29 procedures) since 2006. · 229 Canadians died waiting for an organ in 2010 · 135 people needed a new heart in 2010-- 22 people died waiting for one · At the end of 2010 3,362 patients were waiting for a new kidney. The need for kidneys has doubled in the past 20 years. Dr. Gary Levy, director of the University of Toronto Transplantation Institute, said Canada has a "disorganized, dysfunctional (organ donation) system with little accountability." He said work in a number of areas is needed, including better co-operation and co-ordination between hospitals and jurisdictions. Ronnie Gavsie, president and CEO of Ontario's Trillium Gift of Life Network, said the agency has been working hard to increase donor rates in the province and that the CIHI report "does not represent the reality in Ontario." She says, in 2010, there were 200 deceased donors in Ontario, up from 128 in 2001. While any increase is good, that number is hardly impressive. Frankly, it is clear Canadians can do more when it comes to organ donation. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Steve Nease Letters to the editor Icy sidewalks cause concern Dear editor, I am writing to request an article to inform the Georgetown community homeowners (and perhaps the Acton ones as well) as a reminder to salt icy sidewalks. Recently I saw in your Letters to the Editor a note about the slippery sidewalks on Delrex and Prince Charles roads (Jan. 12 Clean those walks). I too live and walk in the area and have had too many close calls to seriously injuring myself. What are the school kids saying to their parents/guardians about their walks to and from school? I went searching on the Town of Halton Hills webpage to find any information about snow clearing and responsibilities to walkways in the winter months. I appreciate the town's efforts on assisting/proposing with the snow clearing on the listed streets within report INF-2010-0031. However, I don't see anything in this report that states that homeowners are required to salt the walkways if they have frozen water run off from their properties to the sidewalk in front of their home/residence. My question is: If I fall and seriously injure myself, who is responsible for negligence? I feel this is an immediate and necessary topic to cover and highlight to the readers of your paper. We may not have a lot of snow out here this year but there is a large quantity of icy sidewalks that need to be addressed. Leanne Wilkinson, Georgetown fingers and sound ageist...', does exactly the opposite. Although I agree that things have been getting out of hand within our town, there is no reason to loosely point fingers in a public newspaper. Adults are just as capable of vandalism as young adults, and however unlikely this is, it does not give you the right to generalize the Georgetown youth into one misbehaved category. Individual people committed these crimes, not their ages. A concerned YOUNG ADULT. Ainsley Ross, Georgetown Editorial was biased against young adults Dear editor, The article you wrote entitled `Garden Goons' (Feb. 23), although informative, displays biased as well as unfair opinions of the youth in Georgetown. Lumping young adults in Georgetown into one `goon filled' group, is to be honest, offensive. Even though vandalism is a crime with high percentages of its perpetrators being young adults, there is no evidence to prove that it was in fact young adults who performed these crimes. Covering your tracks of accusing the youth by using phrases such as `we don't want to point WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) How far do you think the Raiders will advance in the playoffs for the league championship? 1. First round (35%) 2. Second round (15%) 3. Third round (8%) 4. Fourth round (42%) Shriners appreciate focus on their work Dear editor, On behalf of the Credit Valley Shrine Club and Shriners in general, I would like to thank you for printing the story about Michelle Prete and her experiences with the Shriners hospital. As Shriners our main goals are to support our hospitals and the kids that need them. Thank you. Tom Hayward, President, Credit Valley Shrine Club The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.