But as he and his wife, Betty, watched the returns on television, she suddenly collapsed. Later, she died in hospital of a spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage.
Mr. Albrecht told his story Monday night in the House of Commons. It was close to 11 p.m. when he took to the floor of the Commons, however, and so it’s doubtful many people were listening.
Too bad. What Canadians usually hear from the House are the heckles and insults traded back and forth during Question Period. But at this late hour, Mr. Albrecht was participating in the “take note” debate on organ donation. He was one of the last MPs to speak.
A religious man, Mr. Albrecht talked passionately and personally about the decision he made on election night in May to donate his wife’s organs. There was not a hint of politics or partisanship in his remarks.
The debate was inspired by the situation facing Garry Keller. The 35-year-old chief of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird recently went public with his plea for a living kidney donor.
Seven years ago, Mr. Keller suffered kidney failure and has been on dialysis ever since. Recently, his doctors informed him that dialysis could soon harm his other organs and that he really needed to start actively looking for a donor.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/the-tory-mp-his-dying-wife-and-the-five-lives-saved-with-her-organs/article2262135/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=2262135
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