“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.”<\/p>\n
BOW VALLEY\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Peter Perren sees everything in life as a gift \u2013 even his kidneys.<\/p>\n
It was at church one day when the Canmore resident opened up the weekly bulletin to see Dave Millard\u2019s story spread across the page.<\/p>\n
The longtime Banff resident was living with polycystic kidney disease and the function of his toxin-filtering organs was quickly worsening\u00a0\u2013 Millard was in search of a living donor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Perren said.<\/p>\n
Having survived a climbing accident on Mount Logan in his 20s that \u201cshould\u2019ve killed him\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery breath is a gift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When the opportunity to help Millard came across his path, it was a thought Perren couldn\u2019t shake.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis little voice inside of me said, \u2018That might be something to think about,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After some back and forth, Perren took the first step to find out his blood type and learned it was B-positive \u2013 a perfect match with Millard.<\/p>\n
Initiating the process of becoming a donor, Perren went through months of required testing that would lead to a transplant surgery and change Millard\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll never forget that call,\u201d said Millard, recalling the moment he got the news Perren had stepped up to be his donor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big commitment on his part of testing and giving up a body part.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s no cure for what I have. The cures are dialysis or kidney transplant and that’s it,\u201d added Millard who was in the same boat as about 500 Albertans currently waiting for a compatible donor.<\/p>\n
But life on dialysis isn\u2019t really a path to healing, he explains, noting the treatment isn\u2019t available in the Bow Valley and it would have meant leaving Banff, his home of 41 years, for Calgary where he\u2019d be hooked up to a machine for several hours a day, multiple times a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life would have completely changed. I would have gone from having a normal life to being ruled by a machine,\u201d said Millard who regularly bikes around town, swims, skis and hikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a slippery slope and there’s complications, so dialysis is not the answer,\u201d added Perren.<\/p>\n
In November 2025, as Millard\u2019s kidneys were on the edge of needing to go on dialysis, the pair went under the knife at Calgary\u2019s Foothills hospital, and both came out the other side with no complications.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m grateful to everybody and just feel fortunate that I didn’t have any complications,\u201d said Millard, who, along with Perren, thanked the team of medical professionals who were involved every step of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had all my friends that helped me. I couldn’t have done it without my support system.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Urgent’ need for donors\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never on death row,\u201d Millard said. \u201cThere’s lots of people that are in way worse shape than I was in.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the busy transplant wing of the Foothills hospital, Millard crossed paths with many who were in a\u00a0similar situation to his \u2013\u00a0a man in his 40s who went into kidney failure\u00a0and\u00a0later he\u00a0learned of five-year-old\u00a0girl in Calgary with the same disease as him\u00a0\u2013 just\u00a0a few stories of patients across the province waiting for transplants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, that is devastating. It\u2019s one thing for me, but for a little girl,\u201d Millard said. \u201cHer whole life’s going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
But many can\u2019t afford a long wait.<\/p>\n
In 2025, 75 Albertans\u00a0saved lives by donating an organ, according to Give Life Alberta, the official organ and tissue donation program for the province.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now more than 500 people are waiting for life-saving transplants in Alberta, including more than 400 waiting for kidneys,\u201d said a Give Life Alberta spokesperson in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an urgent need for donors \u2013 both living and deceased. Every year, dozens of people on the wait list die before receiving a transplant.\u201d<\/p>\n
While transplants can be done successfully with an organ\u00a0from a\u00a0deceased donor, the benefits of having a living donor are much greater, the organization says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becoming a donor requires extensive testing to make sure a person is healthy, compatible with the recipient and free of infection.<\/p>\n
Perren says the process is well worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe price the donor has to pay is very, very small ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perren and Millard encourage others to consider organ donation and the life-saving effect it can have on those who often don\u2019t have time to wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d said Perren.<\/p>\n