Only 20% of Windsor residents have registered their consent to organ and tissue donation according to the Trillium Gift of Life Network.
Now, a man who triumphed over a rare genetic disease is trying to raise that number through awareness.
"I was staring death in the face. And once you've been starring death in the face and you don't know if you are going to make it through and you do come through with good health, wow!" says 63 year old Mark Pettigrew, lung recipient.
"I haven't skated in 30 years. This is what I'm going to do today," says a beaming Pettigrew.
At one point, hitting the ice was an unimaginable task prior to his double lung transplant.
"I was at the point where I couldn't brush my teeth without being greatly out of breath," he says.
Pettigrew battled a rare genetic disease called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
Thankfully, Pettigrew beat the disease and that's no longer the case.
It's been almost a year and a half since Pettigrew received a new set of lungs, a lengthy 10 hour operation.
One organ donation can save up to 8 lives, and a tissue donation can enhance the lives of 75 others.
"It takes two minutes to save many lives," says Paula Schmidt, from the Trillium Gift of Life.
"For those out there thinking about it, please consider giving us another chance for those who were born with a situation such as this," adds Mimi McPhedran, president of Alpha1 Canada.
