Honourable senators, I rise today to share with you a story from my home province. I am telling this with the help of Martha, one of our daughters-in-law, mother of two of our grandchildren and a geriatrician practising on Prince Edward Island.

I want to share the story of Hannah, who was born and grew up in the beautiful Annapolis Valley. She was intelligent, warm, kind, funny, enthusiastic and lively. Although she lived with pain from Crohn’s disease, she rarely complained. An accomplished tango dancer, who held a degree in physics, a diploma in meteorology and a master’s degree in atmospheric physics, she was studying to be a teacher. Hannah lived life to its fullest. Her parents are Darrell, a Crown prosecutor, and Sandi, a school principal. Her sister is Martha. When Martha and our son Matt wed, Hannah joined our family as another daughter. She danced her way into our hearts.

One evening, Hannah developed a crushing headache. Unlike her, she complained and was off to the local hospital. Waiting and waiting. Finally, a CAT scan. Hannah was full of life when she went in; there was no life left when she came out. A catastrophic brain bleed. Sadly, life is often not fair.

Later, thankful letters arrived. Strangers had received the gift of a longer life; kidneys, lungs and a pancreas, given by Hannah. Her tissues — bone, skin, heart valves, corneas — went to others in need as well.

Sadly, only about one third of Canadians who could live longer, productive lives with a donated organ receive one. We need to do better than that. Recently, Nova Scotia brought in legislation creating presumed consent for organ donation; a first in North America. Unfortunately, federally, Canada has not yet acted effectively to encourage and promote organ donation.

It is the story of Hannah and others like her that bring to our awareness both the tragedy and the promise of organ donation. In the process of organ donation, Hannah’s family was able to find some meaning to her untimely death. They were grateful that other families were able to spend more time with their loved ones; something they would have given anything for. Her death brought life to others.

Honourable senators, National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week was April 18 to 24. We can draw attention to this national need, to turn the tragic death of one into the gift of life for many. We can encourage Canadians to become donors, and we can lead by example by pledging to be organ and tissue donors ourselves.

To bring the story full circle, a few years following Hannah’s death, her father Darrell’s sight was restored by two corneal transplants, from two different donors. Thank you.