Alberta woman saves 2 strangers with living organ donations: ‘She’s a hero’

When Meghan Rozema was a kid, her parents used to donate blood all the time. She would tag along and enjoy the cookies and soup served after.

When she was old enough, Rozema started donating herself, when she could.

“Life went on, sometimes I would get busy,” she said. “I got away from donating.”

In 2018, the Sherwood Park woman saw a post on Facebook of a man looking for a kidney donor. It opened up a conversation between her and her family.

“The assumption is you would be a deceased donor but there is opportunity to donate while we’re still living,” she said.

Originally, she reached out to Give Life Alberta to see if she could donate a kidney. The team told her she could also donate part of her liver, but she would need to do that before she could donate her kidney.

“The scar seemed intimidating. It’s not a small scar,” she told Global News.

After discussing it with her family, she decided it was the path she wanted to take. In 2021 she got the call to donate part of her liver.

“It went to a baby who probably wouldn’t have seen their first birthday without this transplant,” she said. “Now, anytime I look in the mirror and see the scar I thought of the baby and how they’d be growing and reaching milestones in their life.”

In the meantime, a family friend’s mother got sick. Rozema intended to give her a kidney, but had to wait two years between surgeries before being able to do so.

“Unfortunately, she passed away before I was able to donate again,” she said.

Instead, Rozema anonymously donated her kidney to a stranger who had been on dialysis for many years.

“The donation was in her honour,” she said of her friend’s mom.

Rozema is Alberta’s first living donor to give two organs and one of only a handful in Canada.

“She would be the first person to minimize her decision,” Cassandra Garneau, living donor coordinator for Give Life Alberta, said.

More than 500 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Canada and Garneau said 400 of those people specifically need a new kidney.

Doctors can’t keep up with demand using just deceased donors, but many people don’t know what options are out there.

“You can donate a kidney or a piece of your liver and still live a healthy life.”

Rozema joined Give Life Alberta representatives at the University of Alberta Hospital as part of Living Donor Awareness week from Sept 13-19.

“It’s an honor and also, it’s unfortunate that I am the only one,” Rozema added.

While she usually shies away from the spotlight, Rozema hopes sharing her story will inspire others to consider donating.

“For me, my life went on,” she said. “I was able to exercise again. I was able to enjoy my kid’s activities.”

“It is a short blip in your calendar. A short blip in your life that may be an interruption — that may be inconvenient for a short time,” she said.

“But, the impact you have on someone else’s life is just incredible.”

For more information on becoming a living donor, visit the Give Life Alberta website.