April 6, 2018 was a heartbreaking day for Canadians as news spread that sixteen passengers had lost their lives in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan. Among them, young Logan Boulet. In honour of his wishes, Logan’s organs were donated, saving six lives and starting a lasting legacy known as the “Logan Boulet Effect.”
His selfless act of organ donation inspired a mass registration across Canada, with some 150,000 people registering to become organ donors in the days and weeks that followed Logan’s death. To-date, this remains the largest number of registrations in Canadian history due to one event or person.
But the Logan Boulet Effect doesn’t stop there.
Green Shirt Day – started in 2019 and celebrated annually every April 7 – was created to honour, remember and recognize the victims of the fatal crash and to continue Logan’s legacy by encouraging Canadians to talk to their families and register as organ donors.
So let’s keep Logan’s legacy strong. Green Shirt Day reminds us how important it is to talk to our families about our organ donation wishes and to confirm that decision by registering with Ontario’s organ donor registration system.
It only takes a couple minutes and it could save lives.
In Ontario, there are currently more than 1600 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. Every three days, someone dies because they don’t get a transplant in time. Most Canadians say they support organ donation; today is all about inspiring one another to register and tell our family and friends.
Logan Boulet proved that one person can absolutely make a difference. With 180,000 members in our union family, let us all be inspired by Logan’s legacy.
Warren (Smokey) Thomas OPSEU/SEFPO President
Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer