Meet your flag-bearers and support their team

We invite you to discover your region’s flag-bearers and take the time to read their stories. Each has a personal reason for getting involved, but they all share a desire to help this chain of solidarity grow.

Join their team to climb a mountain on October 16 to 18, or encourage them by making a donation. Your support helps bring the Chain of Life educational program to more young people so they can understand organ and tissue donation, make an informed decision, discuss it with their families and recognize the importance of caring for their health.

For our 20th anniversary, let’s celebrate with those we have always believed in: young people.

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The spark that started it all

Josianne Sirois, teacher
Bas-Saint-Laurent flag-bearer

In 2006, Josianne Sirois was a student in Lucie Dumont’s English class when she met Kristopher Knowles, a 14-year-old from Toronto who came to share his experience of waiting for a liver transplant. Moved by his story, she wanted to take action and suggested creating a website to inform young people about organ donation. Alongside two classmates, her teacher, two other teachers and the school’s communications officer, she became part of the very first Chain of Life committee. Twenty years later, the student has become a teacher and now carries that same conviction forward: young people have the tools to change the world; it is up to us to support them so they dare to take action.

Meeting Kristopher Knowles, a boy waiting for a transplant, had shaken our whole class. That experience has stayed with me ever since.

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From student to teacher, a dream of passing it on

Marily Morin, former student
Capitale-Nationale flag-bearer

Marily Morin discovered Chain of Life in Secondary 4, in “Miss Lucie’s” class in Rivière-du-Loup. Now an English teacher at École secondaire La Camaradière in Québec City, she has completed the training and dreams of one day teaching Secondary 4 or 5 so she can share the program that left such an impression on her. In turn, she hopes to encourage her students to reflect on organ donation, discuss it with their families and discover their ability to make a difference.

I was first a student moved by the program, then a teacher passing it on, and today, I have the opportunity to represent it.

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A conversation that goes a long way

Léa-Rose Langlois, student
Centre-du-Québec flag-bearer

At school, Léa-Rose Langlois came to see organ donation in a new light. She learned how important it is to make her wishes known to her family, who will play a key role when the time comes for donation. Today, she wants to keep the conversation going. On October 18, before the climb, she will speak about what she has learned and invite everyone to discuss it with their loved ones.

A conversation with our family or friends can spark reflection and travel much further than we imagine.

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A chain of connections, memories and hope

Thomas Villemure and Daria Dobre, students
Chaudière-Appalaches Nord flag-bearers

For Thomas Villemure, organ donation brings to mind his grandmother. A liver transplant gave her thirty more years and gave him the chance to know her, laugh with her and find comfort in her company. For Daria, Chain of Life is a reminder that every act counts: tutoring a student, bringing her school together or listening to a friend. Together, they carry the flag for a spirit of solidarity expressed through everyday actions that can change lives.

Thanks to that gift, I had the chance to get to know my grandmother.

I learned that a single personal choice, just one, can bring so much hope to so many lives around us.

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Two young people, one shared hope

Coralie Lachance and Louis-Félix Noel, students
Chaudière-Appalaches Sud flag-bearer

A Secondary 5 student at Polyvalente Saint-François in Beauceville, Coralie Lachance discovered Chain of Life in the English class taught by her mother, Émilie Duval. She remembers the “sparkle in her mother’s eyes” when she returned from training with Lucie Dumont. The program deepened Coralie’s reflections on health and strengthened her desire to become a heart surgeon. Louis-Félix Noel, 14, is a Secondary 3 student at Polyvalente des Appalaches. Born with a heart defect, this former minor hockey goalie is now waiting for a heart transplant. The two met while filming the promotional video for the 2026 Challenge: she dreams of healing hearts; he is waiting for the heart that will allow him to pursue his dreams.

I’m a very active person. That’s why Chain of Life’s activities about the human body and the importance of caring for our organs particularly resonated with me.

Behind every donation, there is a person, a family, dreams and, above all, a life that can go on.

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Learning at school to care for life

Amélie Bazinet, student
Côte-Nord flag-bearer

Amélie Bazinet discovered Chain of Life in her high school English class. Throughout the lessons, she explored the experiences of people waiting for a transplant, transplant recipients and donor families. Their stories helped her appreciate the value of a healthy body and the importance of caring for it. Now a natural sciences student, she is proud to represent young people from the Côte-Nord and share what she has learned.

This education empowers us, as young people, to become agents of change for a more generous, healthier society.

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A new heart, a desire to give back

Marc-André Parent, heart transplant recipient
Estrie flag-bearer

In April 2021, at age 28, Marc-André Parent received a new heart. After 14 years marked by illness, the transplant allowed him to regain his health, his freedom and the joy of watching his children grow. Now a father of four, he wants to give back by sharing his story. For him, educating young people about organ donation means helping them move beyond taboos, make an informed decision and start conversations with their families.

Attending Chain of Life’s training sessions gave me a deep conviction: education is the most powerful way to raise awareness across an entire population.

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From the English classroom to the Butte du vent

Olivia Déraspe and Justine Chiasson, students
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine flag-bearers

At Polyvalente des Îles, Olivia Déraspe and Justine Chiasson discovered Chain of Life in Mikaëlla Poirier’s English class. Inspired by their teacher’s dedication, they now want to share what they have learned and encourage other young people to get involved. They will put that commitment into action during a climb with their school at the Butte du vent, the day before World Organ Donation and Transplantation Day. Their teacher also coordinates the regional Challenge. For Olivia, who is considering a career in law or criminology, this involvement reflects an aspiration: to give a voice to those who need one.

My English teacher, Mikaëlla, introduced us to a project about Chain of Life. Her dedication to helping us learn more really made me want to get involved.

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Life, so precious in their eyes

Leila Tag and Charles Bouchard, students
Lanaudière flag-bearers

In their English class, Leila and Charles discovered much more than organ donation: the possibility of offering a second chance and the value of good health, which is sometimes taken for granted. Moved by the personal stories they heard, they continued the conversation with their loved ones. Now flag bearers, they hope other young people can have the same experience and discover their power to make a difference.

You don’t have to be a superhero to save lives!

I realized how easily we can take good health for granted. Being able to move, play sports and spend time with the people we love: these are very precious things.

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From abstract to real

Tristan-James Cartier, student
Laurentides flag-bearer

For Tristan-James Cartier, organ donation was an abstract concept until he discovered Chain of Life at school last year. The program helped him understand the connections between health, solidarity and the importance of talking with family. He is delighted to have taken part in the new video showcasing Chain of Life’s educational mission, Organ Donation | When Young People Lead. An aspiring entrepreneur in engineering, he will also speak on October 18, before the climb, to share how his perspective has changed and encourage other young people to start the conversation.

Before discovering the Chain of Life program at school last year, organ donation was a rather abstract concept for me. This program completely changed my perspective.

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Learning, sharing and honouring lives

Élissa Nadeau and Marilie Dupont, students
Mauricie flag-bearers

Now in CEGEP, Marilie Dupont and Élissa Nadeau discovered Chain of Life last year in their Secondary 5 enriched English class. The experience deeply moved them, bringing a human face to a subject they knew little about: organ and tissue donation. They now hope to share what they learned and encourage young people and their families to become informed, reflect and start the conversation. Their involvement is also a way to honour every life touched by donation.

We want to honour everyone touched by donation: donors, their loved ones, transplant recipients, people waiting for a transplant, and those who could not receive an organ in time.

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His turn to carry the flag

William Trudel, student
Montérégie flag-bearer

For ten years, William Trudel watched his mother get involved with Chain of Life and lent her a helping hand. Now president of his school’s student council, he is particularly moved to know that the spark behind the organization came from Josianne Sirois, a 16-year-old student. Her story reminds him that young people can set great changes in motion. Now stepping forward as a flag bearer, he invites the people of Montérégie to join him on October 18 to help this chain of solidarity grow.

It means a lot to know that a young person my age was at the heart of this great adventure.

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One gift, two lives connected

Olivia Blyth, student
Montréal flag-bearer

In 2003, at age 19, Olivia Blyth’s mother, Audrée Descheneaux, developed fulminant hepatitis. An 88-year-old donor gave her a second chance: his liver saved her life and allowed her to later become a mother. For years, Audrée has shared her story in schools. Now the coordinator of the Montréal Challenge, she will climb the mountain alongside Olivia on October 18. Twenty-three years after the transplant, mother and daughter will carry a message of gratitude and hope together.

Organ donation saved my mother’s life. Without that gift, I wouldn’t be alive either.

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Grateful for the gift, hopeful once again

Christine Dufour, kidney transplant recipient
Outaouais flag-bearer

At 24, Christine Dufour received a kidney from her father. That gift gave her nearly fourteen years free from dialysis: years to build her adult life, advance her career, become a mother, travel and discover hiking and climbing. Back on dialysis since May, she is now waiting for a second transplant. She will proudly carry the flag at the Outaouais Challenge as her region’s flag bearer. At Mont Cascades, every step she takes will honour the determination of those waiting, the generosity of donors and their families, and everyone who makes transplantation possible.

I am back on dialysis, waiting for a second transplant. I know the immense gratitude of having received, and the hope of receiving again.

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Two sisters, two paths, a shared desire to make a difference

Florence Tremblay and Anne-Émilie Tremblay, former students
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean flag-bearers

Anne-Émilie and Florence Tremblay discovered Chain of Life in their English class with their teacher, Tamara. The experience helped them make an informed decision about organ donation, discuss it with their loved ones and appreciate the value of a healthy body. Today, their paths are taking them in different directions: Anne-Émilie studies in Sherbrooke and hopes to become an intensive care physician, while Florence studies architecture in Chicoutimi. They remain united by a desire to share what they learned and encourage conversations.

In Secondary 5, we’re mature enough to understand what donation involves. And as a future emergency physician, I will likely have these sensitive conversations with families.