Once again, CASSA is partnering with Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) to promote and support organ donation within the South Asian Community. Through previous CASSA and TGLN partnerships and campaign partners, more than 10,000 South Asians have registered as organ donors! Building on past efforts to increase community awareness and understanding of organ and tissue donation and donor registration among the South Asian community in the Greater Toronto Area, in 2018, CASSA will focus engagement utilizing existing channels (events and social platforms) and networks (relationships with member agencies, faith, and community leaders) to champion the cause of organ and tissue donation.
Upcoming events – End May 2018:
South Asian Gift of Life Week: where CASSA is going to arrange and co-organize the SAGL week event which will bring together South Asian organ/tissue donors & recipient families.
Previous Updates
CASSA has been working with the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), an agency of the Government of Ontario, for the past three years to promote organ and tissue donation to the South Asian communities in Ontario. This year, CASSA has partnered with various media, faith, celebrity, and political groups and champions to raise awareness about the need for people to register their consent for after-death organ and tissue donations. So far, CASSA is working with:
Media:
Arifa Muzaffar Show
Canadian Multicultural Radio
Canadian Tamil Radio
Canasia Television Network
Gujrat Weekly
Saaz O Awaz Radio
Sanjha Punjab
Tamil Vision International
The South Asian News
Weekly Bangla Mail
Weekly Voice (Punjabi Awaz)
Faith:
Gursikh Saba Canada
Ontario Khalsa Darbar
Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre
Shaykh Yusuf Badat (from the Islamic Foundation of Toronto)
Sri Varasithi Vinayagar Temple
Champions:
Anujan Mahendrarajah (Youth Worker)
Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon (Brampton)
Dr. Devendra Mishra (Historian)
Dr. Mahadevan Varagunan (Physician)
MP Bob Saroya (Markham-Unionville)
MP Ruby Sahota (Brampton North)
MP Salma Zahid (Scarborough Center)
MPP Harinder Malhi (Brampton-Springdale)
With our media partners, CASSA has been arranging news stories, public service announcements, and TV interviews with information about organ and tissue donation in Ontario. Our faith partners have been actively involved in the campaign by addressing their congregations with information about organ and tissue donation and disseminating information about the Islamic, Hindu, and Sikh perspectives. Finally, the champions have acted as public supporters of organ and tissue donation using their social media and other public platforms.
In April, CASSA celebrated “Be a Donor Month” in Ontario by making presentations and conducting workshops on organ and tissue donation to service agencies, community centers, and other organizations. CASSA also participated in the 2016 Khalsa Day Parade in downtown Toronto on Sunday, April 24th which was attended by almost 85,000 people. This year, Khalsa Day featured organ and tissue donation as its main cause.
CASSA will also be organizing an ethno-specific awareness week for South Asian communities called the South Asian Gift of Life Week (SAGL Week). The 2016 SAGL Week will take place from October 17th to October 23rd, 2016. There will be information forums across the Greater Toronto Area in Ajax, Brampton, Markham, and Scarborough in partnership with our partners and champions. More details will be posted about the SAGL week on the CASSA website (www.cassa.on.ca).
CASSA is looking for people of South Asian background who have consented to donate a family member’s organs or tissues, have received an organ or tissue transplant, or have a family member who is on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant. We would like to share your stories so that more South Asians are encouraged to register their consent. We are also looking for volunteers to help coordinate our upcoming South Asian Gift of Life Week. Please contact the project lead for this campaign, Samya Hasan, at samya@cassa.on.ca or 416-932-1359 ext. 12
