“I would hope that the Bow Valley would be a good source of potential donors where people can share the fitness that they have and make such an incredible difference in people’s lives.”
BOW VALLEY – Peter Perren sees everything in life as a gift – even his kidneys.
It was at church one day when the Canmore resident opened up the weekly bulletin to see Dave Millard’s story spread across the page.
The longtime Banff resident was living with polycystic kidney disease and the function of his toxin-filtering organs was quickly worsening – Millard was in search of a living donor.
“I was turning 70 and I just found myself starting to think about retiring and reflecting on my life. I was just so incredibly grateful for everything in my life,” Perren said.
Having survived a climbing accident on Mount Logan in his 20s that “should’ve killed him”, going on to start a law practice in Canmore, building a family and with a healthy body that allows him to stay active in the mountains, Perren only felt gratitude for his life.
“Every breath is a gift,” he said.
When the opportunity to help Millard came across his path, it was a thought Perren couldn’t shake.
“This little voice inside of me said, ‘That might be something to think about,’” he said.
After some back and forth, Perren took the first step to find out his blood type and learned it was B-positive – a perfect match with Millard.
Initiating the process of becoming a donor, Perren went through months of required testing that would lead to a transplant surgery and change Millard’s life.
“I’ll never forget that call,” said Millard, recalling the moment he got the news Perren had stepped up to be his donor.
“It was a big commitment on his part of testing and giving up a body part.”
“There’s no cure for what I have. The cures are dialysis or kidney transplant and that’s it,” added Millard who was in the same boat as about 500 Albertans currently waiting for a compatible donor.
But life on dialysis isn’t really a path to healing, he explains, noting the treatment isn’t available in the Bow Valley and it would have meant leaving Banff, his home of 41 years, for Calgary where he’d be hooked up to a machine for several hours a day, multiple times a week.
“My life would have completely changed. I would have gone from having a normal life to being ruled by a machine,” said Millard who regularly bikes around town, swims, skis and hikes.
“It’s a slippery slope and there’s complications, so dialysis is not the answer,” added Perren.
In November 2025, as Millard’s kidneys were on the edge of needing to go on dialysis, the pair went under the knife at Calgary’s Foothills hospital, and both came out the other side with no complications.
“I’m grateful to everybody and just feel fortunate that I didn’t have any complications,” said Millard, who, along with Perren, thanked the team of medical professionals who were involved every step of the way.
“I had all my friends that helped me. I couldn’t have done it without my support system.”
‘Urgent’ need for donors
Almost a year later, both Millard and Perren have returned to their active lifestyles in the mountains and as Living Donation Week approaches from Sept. 13-19, the pair says there is a critical need for more donors.
“I was never on death row,” Millard said. “There’s lots of people that are in way worse shape than I was in.”
In the busy transplant wing of the Foothills hospital, Millard crossed paths with many who were in a similar situation to his – a man in his 40s who went into kidney failure and later he learned of five-year-old girl in Calgary with the same disease as him – just a few stories of patients across the province waiting for transplants.
“To me, that is devastating. It’s one thing for me, but for a little girl,” Millard said. “Her whole life’s going to change.”
But many can’t afford a long wait.
In 2025, 75 Albertans saved lives by donating an organ, according to Give Life Alberta, the official organ and tissue donation program for the province.
“Right now more than 500 people are waiting for life-saving transplants in Alberta, including more than 400 waiting for kidneys,” said a Give Life Alberta spokesperson in an email.
“There is an urgent need for donors – both living and deceased. Every year, dozens of people on the wait list die before receiving a transplant.”
While transplants can be done successfully with an organ from a deceased donor, the benefits of having a living donor are much greater, the organization says.
“The benefits of having a living donor can include a much shorter wait time (months versus years), better compatibility, better timing (surgery can be scheduled), and kidneys from living donors tend to last longer.”
Becoming a donor requires extensive testing to make sure a person is healthy, compatible with the recipient and free of infection.
Perren says the process is well worth it.
“Any time I felt any regrets for the hassles I was going through, I would just think about the pluses that Dave was getting and they far outweighed any discomfort or inconvenience that I had,” he said.
“The price the donor has to pay is very, very small ultimately.”
Perren and Millard encourage others to consider organ donation and the life-saving effect it can have on those who often don’t have time to wait.
“The Bow Valley has so many people my age that are super fit. I would hope that the Bow Valley would be a good source of potential donors where people can share the fitness that they have and make such an incredible difference in people’s lives,” said Perren.
The green heart on the Give Life Alberta flag will be raised high at several Alberta hospitals starting on Sunday (Sept. 13). To become a donor visit: givelifealberta.ca.
“I recognize it’s not for everybody. I would just encourage people to think about where they’re at in life and whether they can afford the time to make that difference,” Perren added.
“I can’t put into words the joy you feel when you can help somebody.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. This position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.