The Transplantation Society is extremely pleased to launch Connecting DOTs. Connecting DOTs is an online platform dedicated to educating schoolchildren on donation and organ transplantation (Donation and Organ Transplantation for Schools). It provides information for teachers, students and their families. As organ transplantation is a very important topic for the treatment of end-stage organ disease, it is important to raise awareness amongst the general public.

DonorFacts is the student section of the website. The three modules in Donorfacts were shaped after the Dutch program, Donorwise. Much of the modules were translated directly from Donorwise from Dutch into English. Donorwise was created by The Dutch Transplantation Foundation with support of the Dutch Society of Transplantation. We would like to thank the foundation for allowing us to model Donorfacts after their successful program. A special note of appreciation is given to Professor Marion Siebelink from Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, Netherlands, whose invaluable assistance and commitments in school education helped us in completing this project.

The modules include interactive sessions and videos, and provide general education to broaden awareness on organ donation and transplantation. We hope that students will share their knowledge with family and friends discussing about what they learned. The ultimate goal is to facilitate an open line of communication about topics related to organ donation (mainly from deceased donors) that will increase access to transplantation worldwide.

We thank the Canadian Society of Transplantation that supported this initiative from the beginning. Additionally, we acknowledge some of the pioneers in organ donation and transplantation for schools, such as William Wall from London, Ontario, Canada, and Professor Felix Cantarovich from Argentina. Professor Cantarovich was the inspiration for this program. He has spearheaded the topic of school education for many decades.

We would like to mention a few important phrases stated by Felix Cantarovich:

“During life we are at a higher risk in becoming an organ recipient than becoming an organ donor.”

“Organ donation is a social responsibility of the members of our society.”

“Organ donation is to share life.”