Organ donors honoured as “ambassadors of health”

21 October 2018 at 17 h 46 min

Reading time: 30 s

By Gordon Lambie

Organ donors honoured as “ambassadors of health”

France Bedard of Sherbrooke was one of hundreds who walked to the front of the Cathdral to receive recognition on behalf of a family member. Bedard's husband left for work last December and never came home, but was able to donate organs and tissue to help others. (Photo : Gordon Lambie)

This past Friday morning, the Saint-Michel Basilica-Cathedral in Sherbrooke was filled to the brim by the more than 1,500 people who turned out for the annual Canadian Organ & Tissue Donors Association (CODA) Ceremony. Every year for the last 25 years the CODA (or ACDO, as it is known in French) has held this ceremony of remembrance and recognition in honour of those individuals who, in the previous year, served as organ or tissue donors in the province of Quebec. “With this ceremony, we pay tribute to the men and women who have bequeathed a legacy of health through organ and tissue donation,” said CODA President and Founder Richard Tremblay. See full story in the Monday, October 22 edition of The Record. See full story in the Monday, October 22 edition of The Record.

There was not an empty seat to be found at the 25th annual Canadian Organ & Tissue Donors Association ceremony in Sherbrooke on Friday.

An honour guard made up of police officers from forces across the province escorted the family members of organ donors forward to receive medals on behalf of their departed loved ones

Sherbrooke Mayor Steve Lussier signing the ACDO's memorial book under the gaze of J.Michel Doyon, Lieutenant-Gouvernor of Québec

Share this article