Our panel of judges for the contest included The Amazing Kreskin, Brian Michaels, John Balogh, Ali Agar and Stephanie Bartolac (our January Facebook challenge winner) – who we’d like to thank for their time and ongoing support.

Lastly, to all those who voted – thanks for participating and helping to make this contest a success.

And the Winners are…

Teens 4 Transplants
PSA Contest Winner’s

Grand Prize Winner:
Maggie, Bayview Secondary School, of Richmond Hill, ON.

School Endorsed Winner:
Andy, Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, Tumbler Ridge, BC.

Winners by Most Popular Vote:
Art Category: Alex, Elmwood High School, Stittsville, ON.
Music Category: Maggie, Bayview Secondary School, Richmond Hill, ON.
Video Category: Jacob and Marie, St. Paul Secondary School, Mississauga, ON.
Creative Writing Category: Kayla, St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary Russell, ON.

Here’s how:
1. Choose the category in which you wish to compete: Creative Writing, Music, Art, or Video.
2. Create your PSA!
3. If you wish, ask your school to support your entry. Your teacher or principal simply needs to email an endorsement to entries@organdonations.ca to support your good deed. This will make your school eligible for a $2,000 prize.
4. Email your entry (attach any file type or include a link to a web page) to entries@organdonations.ca as soon as it’s ready and get people to vote! Voting closes January 31, 2010.
5. If you have not attained the age of majority, we will send you a parental consent form to get signed.
6. Tell all your family and friends to visit www.teens4tranplants.com and vote for their favourite!
7. In February, 2010, ODTAC will:
• award $500 to the creator(s) of the most popular PSA from each category (based on votes),
• award $500 to the creator(s) and $2,000 to the school whose student(s) submitted the most creative PSA (as selected by ODTAC) among the entries supported by a school, and
• award a $1,000 GRAND PRIZE to the creator(s) of the most effective PSA (as selected by ODTAC) among all entries.
8. ODTAC may then use the GRAND PRIZE winning PSA in its national awareness campaign!

Need more info? Call The Organ Donation and Transplant Association of Canada at 1.866.949.0003

By Sarah Lynn and Andrew, Heart Lake SS, Brampton, ON.

By Hilary, Rainy River HS, Rainy River, ON.

By Eric, St. Theresa CSS, Richmond Hill, ON.

Each and every day, five innocent, loving Canadians die from a specific issue. These are Canadians of all ages – from infants to elders – who leave behind an empty life and a lot of grief for their family members to deal with. Is this fair? Is it fair for a baby to lose his or her life after only a few weeks of being brought into this world? Is it fair for a child to lose his/her parent or sibling? Is it fair for a twenty year old who is just starting life to die when they haven’t done anything wrong? The answer to each of these questions is, “No, it’s not fair”. But do people do anything about it? For the most part no, they don’t, because they don’t know how easy and simple it is to save a life. Someone can easily give a life-saving miracle and one simple act is all it takes. That very special act is the decision to become an organ donor.

Many people never hear of or discuss the idea of becoming an organ donor until the moment that a loved one is pronounced brain dead and has no chance of coming back. But even then, people will refuse to donate their loved one’s organs because they don’t know the proper information about organ donation and also because they are in a horrifying situation and don’t want to believe that their loved one has truly passed on. But wouldn’t you want to save someone’s life if you had the chance? Give a child the chance to play hockey or horseback ride like a normal kid? Give a parent the ability to be there for their children? You can. Anyone can be an organ donor no matter what their age is. All you have to do is let your loved ones know that if anything were to happen to you, you want to help someone in need. Why not find out what your family wishes are as well? Also, if you’re over the age of sixteen, you can ensure this decision by signing a donor card which will notify the system of your decision. Once you become an organ donor, you’ve made the decision that when you die, you do not want your body to sit under the ground doing nothing, you want to save not just one life, but up to eleven lives, and to enhance the life of up to eighty other people. When you become an organ donor, you make the decision to be a miracle to somebody when you no longer need your body. You make a commitment to be a miracle.

Many people don’t talk about organ donation because they don’t know the facts or because they heard something that might have steered them off course, which nine times out of ten is usually just a myth. If you really want to know the truth about what it is like to be an organ donor and what the facts and myths are, go to

Talking to your family and signing your organ donor card only asks you to give up a few minutes of your time. The steps to become an organ donor cost nothing. All it takes is five minutes to talk to your loved ones and a few minutes to sign a form. But to save someone’s life, it truly is priceless. Please, consider being an organ donor, to be a miracle to many people in need. Pass this information on to your friends. Together, let’s all make a change for the best.