Matt Schlatter fulfilled his dream of becoming a paramedic and living an active life after receiving a double lung transplant two years ago.
Having battled cystic fibrosis his whole life, the native of Victoria, now 25, has beat the drum for organ donor registration since, but especially in April 鈥� organ donation awareness month. His experience with life-saving surgery followed someone鈥檚 selfless decision to make their organs available in the event of their death.
鈥淲ithout the generous gift of an organ donor, I would not be here today,鈥� he stated in a release. 鈥淎ll of the things I didn鈥檛 have the energy or health to do before my transplant, I鈥檓 now able to accomplish and more!鈥�
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A quick scan of Schlatter鈥檚 Instagram page, post-surgery, finds photos of him engaged in such outdoor activities as hiking, boating, surfing, kayaking, tubing, kite surfing and more.
Schlatter, who has been working as a paramedic in Ladysmith and recently accepted a job in Vancouver, where he started April 16, encourages people to look into organ donation then consider registering their decision.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need our organs once we pass away, so why not give them to someone who does?鈥� he asked. 鈥淎ll it takes is two minutes to register as a donor, with the potential to change the lives of people waiting.鈥�
With approximately 700 people awaiting transplants in B.C., he said it鈥檚 important for people to sign up for the Organ Donor Registry at and let family members know your wishes.
The death of hockey player Logan Boulet, a registered donor, in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 inspired tens of thousands of Canadians to sign up as organ donors knowing that his donations allowed six other people to live on. Green Shirt Day on April 7 honoured his legacy.
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BC Transplant states that only about one per cent of all deaths occur in a way that would enable someone to be an organ donor, and no age limit exists for donation if a suitable match recipient is found.
Deceased donors can have up to eight organs transplanted, including two kidneys, two lungs, liver, heart, pancreas and small intestine.
Live donors can pass on a kidney to someone with the same blood type and other match criteria, and the outcome is generally better than with a deceased donor, BC Transplant says. Even one鈥檚 corneas can be transplanted to help people with blindness, a process overseen by the Eye Bank of British Columbia at .
For more information on organ donation, visit . For more news from Vancouver Island and beyond delivered daily into your inbox, please
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