10 Years, 316 Flag Raisings and Countless Lives Touched
For the past decade, the Gift of Life flag has been a symbol of the extraordinary generosity of Manitobans who have given the gift of life. Since its launch in 2016, the specially designed flag has flown 316 times to honour living and deceased organ and tissue donors and the families who stood behind their gift. Today marks the latest raising of the flag, thanks to the recent generosity of donors just days ago.
Now, as the flag marks its 10th anniversary, Transplant Manitoba is using the milestone to look beyond the flag itself and ask Manitobans to consider what they can do to help make more gifts of life possible. Because while the flag represents extraordinary generosity, Manitoba continues to have a significant gap between supporting organ and tissue donation and taking action.
“About 90 per cent of Canadians support organ donation, yet only 6 per cent of Manitobans are registered organ and tissue donors. That is a gap we need to close,” said Dr. Owen Mooney, Medical Director of Transplant Manitoba’s Gift of Life program. “We know Manitobans support donation. The challenge is turning that support into registrations. With only 6 per cent of Manitobans registered, compared with 32 per cent nationally, we need more people to make their decision, register it and talk to their families about their wishes.”
The Gift of Life flag was created to provide a visible tribute to an otherwise invisible gift. Following a donation opportunity, the flag is raised as a signal to the community that someone has chosen to give the gift of life, honouring the courage and generosity of living donors and the extraordinary gift made by deceased donors and their families. The flag is flown at the Health Sciences Centre and, more recently, at St. Boniface Hospital, where a second flagpole was added in September 2024 as a show of support for organ and tissue donation and recognition of the important role both hospitals play in transplantation.
“Every time we raise this flag, there is a story behind it,” said Dr. Mooney. “There is a person who chose to give. There is a family who said yes and honoured that decision. And there are people whose lives may be changed forever because of that generosity. When we raise this flag, we are saying thank you to all of them.”
The 10th anniversary is both a celebration and a call to action. He said it’s an opportunity to look back at a decade of honouring donors and their families, while looking ahead to the lives that could be changed through future acts of donation.
“Over the past 10 years, this flag has given us 316 opportunities to stop and say thank you,” said Dr. Mooney. “That number is more than simply a statistic. It represents 316 reminders of extraordinary generosity, and of the profound impact that donation can have on recipients, families and communities. We are incredibly proud of what it represents. But we also want this anniversary to inspire action. Our hope is that the next decade will bring significantly more opportunities for transplantation and lives changed through donation.”
Transplant Manitoba encourages Manitobans who support organ and tissue donation to make their decision, register it and have a conversation with their loved ones.
“We don’t want people to see the Gift of Life flag and simply think, ‘That’s a beautiful tribute,’ added Dr. Mooney. “We want them to stop and ask themselves, ‘What can I do?’ You can make your decision. You can register it. You can tell your family. And you can encourage the people you love to do the same.”
Registration is an important first step, but so is making sure loved ones know your wishes. Having that conversation before a crisis occurs can provide clarity for families who may one day be called upon to make an incredibly difficult decision.
“The most important time to have the conversation about donation is when you don’t need to have it,” said Dr. Mooney. “Families should know each other’s wishes before they are ever faced with making a decision. Talk to your family now. Tell them what you want. When families know what their loved ones have decided, they have clarity when they need it most.”
As the Gift of Life flag enters its second decade, Transplant Manitoba hopes its story will inspire more Manitobans to turn their support for donation into action.
“Behind every donation is a person making an extraordinary choice to give,” said Dr. Mooney. “The flag reminds us of the generosity that has already changed lives. Our challenge now it to make sure more Manitobans have the opportunity to make the same kind of difference.”
Manitobans can register their organ and tissue donation decision at SignUpForLife.ca and are encouraged to talk with their families about their wishes.