MONTRÉAL, Nov. 1, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Urgences-santé has now teamed up with Héma-Québec to implement an improved referencing process for potential human tissue donors during an intervention by paramedics. This process will have a major impact on identifying potential donors and could translate into hundreds of additional identifications for Héma-Québec on an annual basis.
The two organizations are using this announcement to inform members of the public served by Urgences-santé that they may be asked by Urgences-santé teams to allow them to check the organ donor and human tissue registries in the event of the recent death of a loved one. Dr. Gilles Bourgeois, Medical Director of Urgences-santé, stressed that "the gift of tissue is a social act of major importance to every participant in the pre-hospital emergency intervention chain."
The Legacy of Life
Each year, Héma-Québec distributes close to 5,000 human tissues to Québec hospitals. Without the generosity of individuals who consent to donate and their families who respect their wish to give the legacy of life, it would be impossible to meet the needs of sick or injured patients. A single human tissue donor can improve the life of 20 persons. For example, a single skin graft will help improve the living conditions of serious burn victims, while one gift of bone tissue or tendons will make reconstructive surgeries possible.
To learn more about consent, go to www.signezdon.gouv.qc.ca. To become better informed about human tissue donation, visit Héma-Québec's website at www.hema-quebec.qc.ca, and click on the Human Tissues section.
About the Corporation d'urgences-santé
The Corporation d'urgences-santé is the largest paramedic organization in Quebec. It employs 1,436 people, including more than 900 paramedics and 100 emergency medical dispatchers who serve the population of Montréal and Laval. Urgences-santé receives over 350,000 calls a year.
About Héma-Québec
Héma-Québec is an expert in human biological products and is a supplier and distributor of human tissues for transplantation (including skin grafts, cardiac valves and musculoskeletal tissues, such as tendons and bones) to Québec hospitals. The organization is also responsible for the retrieval and processing of ocular tissue for use in corneal transplants.
Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently meet the needs of the Québec population for safe, optimal quality blood and blood derivatives, human tissues, cord blood, mother's milk and stem cells; and to develop and provide expertise and specialized and innovative services in the field of human biological products.
Give human tissues. Give life.
View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2017/01/c7313.html 
