Organ transplant recipients had the opportunity to show their gratitude towards hospital staff Wednesday morning at Kelowna General Hospital.
The recipients were at KGH for Operation Popcorn, an annual program in its 24th year that has transplant recipients deliver festive tins of popcorn to hospital staff in hospitals throughout the province. Jamie Barber received a heart transplant eleven years ago, and he is incredibly thankful for the donor and all of the medical staff that helped him. Barber is in his 3rd year with Operation Popcorn, and he wants hospital staff to know how thankful he is.
“I think a lot of the time, people in hospitals see patients when they are sick, and then never see them again,” he noted. “It’s great for us to come back, and show them that we live great lives after they’ve helped us.”
Barber has been able to return to a normal life since his transplant, as he has since gotten married and has been able to resume playing hockey. Operation Popcorn visited 26 hospitals this year, 25 of them in BC and one in Yukon. So far this year, over 38,500 British Columbians have registered as organ donors, bringing the total number over 961,300.
