In 1992
fitness promoter George Marcello discovered he had terminal liver
disease and he was blessed
with the "Gift of Life", a new liver. In 1995 George was rushed to the
hospital and was told he had 2
days left to live and once again, an organ donor saved George's life after
the organ donor had passed away.
To give back and help others, George began walking across Canada in
five high profile campaigns:
- 1997 (14 days) -
Completed 500 km Toronto Ottawa Walk
- 1999 (96 days) –
Completed 2,500 km Ontario Walk
- 2000-2002 (769 days)
Completed 12,000 km, 500 cities/towns, 9 seasons across Canada
- 2004-2005 (365 days)
– Completed 200 cities on the "Kristopher's Wish" campaign
- 2005 –2006 (5
countries) - Completed European Tour and was recognized by Pope Paul II
-
- November 1, 2006
after 2nd transplant he completed the Toronto Ottawa walk again
George's accomplishments on behalf of organ
donation and the promotion
of the new organ-donor policy
of Presumed Consent are most impressive. Indeed, he inspired or created....
- Over 4000
positive media stories
- Over a million
people to touch the torch of life
- Over 1000
members from 3 levels of Government
- Over 1000
consultations with the public
- Over 4,000
events
- Premier Harris
to allocate 120 million dollars towards organ programs
- Prime Minister
Chrétien to allocate 20 million dollars towards organ programs
- Pope John Paul
II to have audience with George and promote organ donations
worldwide
- Federal and
Provincial legislators to improve the organ system in many ways
- health groups to
medically improve the rate of organ donation
FAIR is proud that one of our Mission Statements is support for
new organ donor policies, including Presumed
Consent and we are most pleased that George has taken the mission of fair
and equitable bio-medical
research funding without favoritism for HIV/AIDS to Canada as written
in
this article form Tandem,
Canada's Cosmopolitan News, Arts and Sports paper.
To view a powerful video by George's organization, Step By Step, that
illustrates the
organ donor crisis in Canada extremely well, click
here.
|
