It was Green Shirt Day at the SLS Centre on Friday, Apr. 7, and as the afternoon went on more, and more, families joined in on the street hockey fun.

Family fun was combined with an awareness campaign on how so many lives are saved by organ and tissue donations. Many recipients and donors were on hand to provide insight.

Among them was Niki Kitcher, who dropped the ball for the opening ceremony. The Calgary resident donated a kidney on Mar. 23, 2022, to the husband of a co-worker who had been waiting for seven years for a transplant. His cousin had agreed to donate a kidney but found out he wasn't eligible.

Finding out she had the same blood type, Niki stepped forward. With COVID at its peak, it took about three years until the transplant was possible.

"I just thought it was meant to be right from day one that I was able to help them and it changed my life in return."

She says she feels incredible and there have been no long-term effects.

Calling them a wonderful couple, she continues to keep in regular touch on a regular basis and was thrilled to recently hear the kidney is functioning at 86 per cent. The recipient's own kidney was at five per cent capacity on the day of surgery.

Not all cases are the same, and most donations are anonymous. Such was the case for Cochrane resident Eric Howard, who had a double lung transplant. 

He says he feels extremely lucky to have qualified for a transplant because many don't due to other underlining health issues. 

"Once you pass all the tests, you wait at home for a phone call. We got the phone call on October 8, 2020."

The donor's family remains anonymous, but Howard says they continue to send their thanks annually.

"We send a letter every year to the family and thank them both. They have an opportunity to write back if they choose, but they haven't chosen to at this point."

He can't stress enough how important it is to become a registered donor.

"I encourage all my buddies to sign up if they haven't, most of them already have. Awareness of this is so important because if people know it's there, they'll do it, and it's not hard to register."

Lauren Herschel, a director with the National Transplant Association, was among the other donors attending. She became the first person in Calgary to donate a kidney to a stranger in 2011.

"Honestly, I didn't know anybody who needed a kidney, I just thought being a living donor would be a good thing to do."

She says it's important people share their stories so others will understand. It's equally important to let your family and friends know you are a registered donor.

She says holding events like this help create the conversation.

"Logan (Boulet) talked with his parents and said this is what I want to do. Then unfortunately the tragedy happened, but they knew what he wanted, and that probably made all the difference."

Former NHLer and Olympic medallist Mason Raymond has returned home and is the new owner and operator of Cochrane GM. He was kept busy during the event.

"First and foremost, being a Cochranite and being born and raised in Cochrane makes this special for me. Seeing these young players shoot the ball around brings back many memories of how I started at that age and doing little things like that."

"Hockey is near and dear to my heart and a lot of these things play into it, so it was a tragic event, but I love seeing the green out here today and seeing what this is supporting. It was tragic, but it's awesome to see these types of events continue to create buzz and show what can be done and demonstrate the power of sport and the power of people."

The day was made possible by a large crew from the SLS Centre and Green Shirt Day volunteers.

The SLS Centre had plenty of people on hand, including CEO Erin Wagner.

"I think it's an important event for the community and the nation as well," she says, "so it's important to recognize the importance of this day."

Players from the Cochrane Chaos and Cochrane Generals junior teams also participated.

Greg Hantuk, one of the organizers is thrilled with the response in the second year of the event.

"It's so much fun, not only seeing the kids out, but parents playing hockey together with kids, smiling, laughing, and what a wonderful day on top of it all."