Posted:
(4 p.m.)
Members of Halifax Regional Police (HRP) will lace up their skates this Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Halifax Forum for the 3rd Annual National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week Cup Hockey Championship.
HRP will take on a team comprised mainly of donor family members and organ and tissue transplant recipients, including Michael Rumsby (stem cell recipient), Trevor Umlah (double lung recipient), Sean Grace (heart recipient) and Chris Meagher (kidney recipient). The goal of the event, which is organized by the Life: Pass It On Transplant Society, is to demonstrate the quality-of-life that can be achieved through organ and tissue donation.
Chief Jean-Michel Blais, who is an avid hockey player, will referee the game alongside his daughter, Rebecca. Theresa Rath, an HRP employee and donor family member, will drop the puck at the event. Theresa lost her father to a brain aneurysm when she was just 17-years-old. Her family made the decision to donate her father’s organs and tissues and she has since been a passionate advocate for organ and tissue donation.
“I think this cause strikes close to home for HRP employees because we so often respond to crises and tragedies. We know that organ and tissue donation can be the only positive thing to come out of some of those tragedies,” Theresa says.
This year, National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week runs April 21-28. The Life: Pass It On Transplant Society is a non-profit society with the mission to promote organ and tissue donation awareness while honouring those who have donated.
Game Details:
Date: Sunday, April 21, 2013Time: 4 p.m. (followed by shootout competition and family skate) Place: Halifax ForumAdmission: Free