Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform this House and all Canadians that March is kidney month.
The Kidney Foundation of Canada will again be focusing its effort on educating the public regarding the importance of organ donation.
An estimated 20,000 Canadians suffer from kidney failure. Millions of others suffer from kidney related disorders. For many Canadians a kidney transplant is their only option. Nearly 2,400 of 2,800 Canadians that were on the waiting list in 1996 were still waiting for kidney transplants by the end of that year. A strategy to improve organ donation and distribution was endorsed by federal, provincial and territorial health ministers.
I take this opportunity to encourage all Canadians to sign an organ donor card and to support the Kidney Foundation of Canada.