Lana Sinclair

For Lana, donating a kidney to save her brother Tony’s life was simply the right thing to do. But her family’s journey to kidney donation actually started more than three decades ago when Lana’s father donated one of his kidneys to Tony to help keep his son alive.

When that kidney began to fail, Tony, who has kidney disease, needed another one but no suitable match could be found in the family. Lana offered to help through the Kidney Paired Donation program.

This interprovincial organ sharing program matches transplant candidates with suitable living donors.

By donating a kidney to a patient she didn’t know, Lana made it possible for Tony to receive a kidney from another donor. The surgeries went smoothly and all are doing well.

Lana also recognizes that her decision inspires others which in turn can save even more lives. “A co-worker of mine was reluctant to give blood, in part because she doesn’t like needles,” says Lana. “But because of what I did, she’s now a blood donor. That is so cool.”