SLiDE Organ Donation 2022: Sign up to save a life  

Posted on Thursday, November 17th, 2022

Six nursing students from Algonquin College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program have come together to promote student organ donation registration through their project, SLiDE Organ Donation 2022.

Every year, students in the Nursing program undertake a clinical placement in which they work on community-related health projects to become acquainted with the different fields of practice in the health sector. Through the placement they gain valuable exposure to the many facets of community nursing.

Ella Leduc, a student at the project’s helm, explained how the group’s work has advanced their knowledge of nursing and community health.

“Our efforts to promote organ donation have helped us develop community nursing skills, such as population assessments and community building,” said Leduc. “Shifting from working with individual patients to entire communities has been challenging; however, the SLiDE 2022 Organ Donation project has highlighted for us the importance of community-based nursing and healthy advocacy.”

The project hopes to enroll 2,500 eligible students by the end of November. The team is using a variety of campaign tools to increase donor registration numbers such as hosting four campaign days at the College and a student raffle. Students are automatically enrolled in the raffle when they register as an organ donor through the project. Raffle prizes include gift cards to Starbucks, Connections – The Campus Store and the Wolves Den.

“While this project is an assignment for our program, we all share a passion for health advocacy and hope that students, through our project, see the value in registering as an organ donor,” said Leduc.

AC nursing student project seeking stem cell donors

Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

 

A group of Algonquin College nursing students are working on a project to improve access to stem cells and the treatments that they facilitate.

Four students in the College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program are working in association with Canadian Blood Services (CBS) to add 50 new stem cell donors to the CBS Stem Cell Registry and develop a more diverse donor population. According to group member Victoria Parlee, fewer than a quarter of patients can find a stem cell match within their family and are often left reliant on registries and donors. More than 1000 Canadians are currently waiting to find a match and receive a potentially life-saving stem cell transplant. Additionally, matches are more likely among those with shared ethnic backgrounds due to compatibility of inherited genetic markers.

Donated stem cells can make a massive difference in the lives of those with a wide range of diseases and disorders, including various blood cancers, bone marrow deficiencies, aplastic anemia and dozens of others.

Those interested in becoming a donor can register online at this link. CBS is seeking donors primarily between the ages of 17-35 and in good health. Additionally, due to stem cell matches having a direct correlation to ethnic background, the Stem Cell Registry is made stronger through a diverse group of donors. The group’s community nursing team will also host an information booth on Nov. 8 at the Ottawa Campus’ Student Commons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.