The coach of a Vancouver peewee hockey team says his search for a life-saving organ donor has been successful.
Stephen Gillis has posted a video on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, showing the moment a friend confirms he is a perfect match and will donate a kidney to the longtime minor hockey coach.
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Gillis says he wanted to make the announcement on Green Shirt Day, an event created by the parents of the late Humboldt Broncos player Logan Boulet, whose donated organs saved six other lives.
In the post, Gillis tearfully embraces Michael Teigen, who learned of GillisB次元官网网址 plight and took the steps to determine his kidney would be a match.
GillisB次元官网网址 peewee team launched a video search for a living kidney donor after being told their coachB次元官网网址檚 battle with CrohnB次元官网网址檚 disease had caused his kidneys to shut down.
The video by the 11- and 12-year-old players racked up thousands of views and gained national attention.
Gillis says he is B次元官网网址渟till trying to process (TeigenB次元官网网址檚) selflessness and generosity.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淚 am hoping now we can use this story to sign up people to become organ (donors) and save the lives of others,B次元官网网址 he says in an email.
He has suffered from CrohnB次元官网网址檚 disease since the age of 25 but led a very active lifestyle until last summer when he said he started B次元官网网址渇eeling a bit weird,B次元官网网址 and doctors gave him a troubling diagnosis.
B次元官网网址淭hey let me know that my blood was basically vinegar and that it wasnB次元官网网址檛 being cleaned for a while,B次元官网网址 he said in an interview in January.
Since then, Gillis has required dialysis to clean his blood and also underwent major surgery to have his diseased colon removed.
It was during his recovery from that surgery that he received the visit from Teigen and learned of the upcoming donation.
The Canadian Press
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