Thank you for the invitation.
I'll begin by introducing our agency and providing disclosure.
My name is Kimberly Young, and I'm the chief executive officer of the Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation, or CCDT, a federally incorporated not-for-profit advisory organization established by the Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Deputy Ministers of Health to support their efforts to coordinate and improve activities relating to organ and tissue donation and transplantation, or OTDT, in Canada.
According to the CCDT vision, every Canadian who needs a transplant should have equitable and timely access to safe tissues and organs; every Canadian who wishes to donate should be optimally considered and, when possible, supported; and all donation should be compassionate, safe, and efficient.
As of April 1, 2008, the Canadian Blood Services, or CBS, will assume responsibility for some national services for organ and tissue donation and transplantation, which includes a transfer of functions currently performed by the CCDT. For this reason, I would like to introduce Dr. Graham Sher, chief executive officer of the Canadian Blood Services.