Interview with Ronnie Gavsie, Trillium Gift of Life Network

bh IN BRIEF

Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) is a not-for-profit agency of the Ontario Government supporting organ and tissue donation and transplantation across Ontario. It promotes donor registration through its Gift of 8 Movement. Why Gift of 8? One organ donor can give a life-saving gift to up to 8 other people and affect the quality of life for up to 75 more people. In addition to major organs, like lungs, kidneys, hearts, and livers, people can donate tissue, such as corneas from eyes, heart valves, bones and skin. More donors are urgently needed and its beadonor campaign continues. For more information about the Gift of 8 Movement or hosting a workplace campaign, go to https://beadonor.ca.

For specific help, contact

Meredith Sjogren at 416-619-2299 or msjogren@giftoflife.on.ca.

Ronnie Gavsie, President & CEO

Trillium Gift of Life Network

Notes:

Ronnie Gavsie was guest speaker at a Pathways to Business Health Symposium, London, Ontario, May 30, 2013.

For details on the campaign at Astellas, see “The Gift of 8 Movement – Supporting Transplant Miracles,”

in businesshealth e-news (9)1, February 2013.

For example, organizations can get help setting up their own campaign web pages. For a sample, see

https://beadonor.ca/astellas

Building a culture of wellness and fostering team spirit in the workplace require leadership. The Trillium Gift of Life Network, led by Ronnie Gavsie, is considered the gold standard in Canada for organ donation. The Gift of 8 Movement – its signature public outreach activity – includes an innovative workplace initiative.¹

1. What has made the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) so successful?

What makes TGLN successful is that it is about a cause that brings out people’s raw emotions. Sharing emotions and dealing with loss of life and life beginning anew create a special culture.People who work at TGLN relate to each other.

The nature of the work also fosters interdependence: each part depends on the others. The part approaching families to donate organs depends on the part motivating people to register and both depend on the part that focuses on the transplant process.

As a leader I am fortunate to have employees whose success is interdependent. It is much easier to be successful as a leader when others recognize that they can’t be successful if you are not. I always fight the development of silos. The more interdependent employees are, the more successful the organization.

TGLN partners with many others – hospitals, government agencies, and transportation organizations. We all are interdependent and involved in processes that are delicate, time sensitive, and require careful logistics. TGLN is accountable to all. We have clear measures of success but the most dramatic is the number of lives saved.

2. What is the BeADonor.ca Campaign? How does it relate to the workplace?

TGLN is dedicated to enhancing lives by maximizing organ and tissue donation for transplantation in Ontario. To accomplish our goal we started the Gift of 8 Movement and launched the beadonor.ca campaign which includes a workplace initiative that supports registration drives. It is entirely online, easy to implement, and doesn’t require any financial donation or more than a couple of minutes of employee time. Everyone can be involved. No donors are turned away because they are too old or have pre-existing medical conditions, and all major religions support organ donation.

3. How many organizations have responded so far? What feedback have you received?

Since last September, over 50 organizations have conducted campaigns, including police forces, hospitals, educational institutions and businesses. Feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Results more than meet expectations. Most, like campaigns this spring by Peel Regional Police and a Toronto tri-hospital group, exceed their initial goals. Astellas Pharma Canada, Ltd, which launched its campaign last year with a goal of 60 registrations has now met 181% of its objective.²

4. What is involved in a campaign? How does TGLN help?

There are a variety of ways to run campaigns that strengthen organizations and help them give back to the community. To bring out their brand, organizations can choose the style of their campaign – whether they keep it in-house or partner with others in single campaign, as the tri-hospitals did, or a competition to see which meets the target first. By providing templates and helping organizations customize materials at no charge, TGLN makes it easy to host campaigns that foster pride and connections in the workplace and community.³

5. Why are campaigns so successful – for TGLN, individuals and organizations?

Campaigns are immediately rewarding. They offer you a way to feel you are making a difference. The moment you register you give a gift – people on the waitlist get the gift of hope.

The cause is interesting and novel. People who participate are rewarded beyond money. They come away with an increased desire to learn and be at the leading edge. They are better educated in many areas, including the transplant process, ethics, technical laws, and the transplant journey – its myths, controversies and triumphs.

Finally, a campaign forges bonds between people. The subject is not just head driven; it is heart driven. People think through some deep emotions and end up having a lot to talk about with each other. Organizations end up being stronger.