Organization Info
Back to Members
Available Positions
Black Donors Save Lives
www.bdsl.ca
Black Donors Save Lives (BDSL) is a national Black-led nonprofit organization working to dismantle systemic inequities in Canada’s blood, stem cell, organ, and tissue donation systems. Founded by public health advocate and MPH candidate Sylvia Okonofua, BDSL emerged from lived experience navigating sickle cell disease, donor exclusion, and the silencing of Black communities within life-saving donation systems.
Across Canada, Black and African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities are significantly under-represented in donor registries while facing higher burdens of conditions such as sickle cell disease and aggressive blood cancers that often require genetically matched donors. These disparities are not driven by lack of willingness, but by histories of medical racism, exclusionary policies, mistrust, and culturally unsafe engagement.
BDSL works to shift this reality through a community-centred model grounded in trust, education, and systems change. Our programming spans grassroots donor drives, youth leadership initiatives, culturally responsive community education, research and policy advocacy, and national partnerships with healthcare institutions. Through initiatives such as the Youth Health Champions program, the Reclaim storytelling series, and Black History Month national donor drives, BDSL mobilizes Black communities while simultaneously holding systems accountable for removing structural barriers.
At the heart of our work is a belief that equity in donation is not simply about increasing numbers, it is about transforming how systems listen to, value, and partner with Black communities. By centring Black leadership, lived expertise, and evidence-informed advocacy, Black Donors Save Lives is building a future where access to life-saving therapies is not shaped by race, but by justice.
Available Positions
|
Position
|
Organization
  |
|
Location
|
Map
|
Bookmark
|
Active
|
Published
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volunteer Needed - Multiple Positions | Black Donors Save Lives | M/B/C/V |
|
|
|
|