Two North Delta high school students are have been awarded scholarships from BC Transplant in recognition of the youths' efforts to raise awareness in their schools and community.

North Delta Secondary's Kimran Boparai and Sands Secondary's Narmaya Sternberg are among five Lower Mainland youths chosen to receive $1,500 "Live Life. Pass It On" scholarships, awarded to grade 10-12 students who lead an organ donation awareness project in their school or community during the 2023/24 school year.

"The calibre of applications was so high, BC Transplant awarded an extra scholarship this year," the agency said in a story posted to its website. "These five students created exceptional projects that went beyond their school community and demonstrated a deep understanding of the purpose of the scholarship."

As her capstone project, Boparai organized a creative Green Shirt Day fundraiser at NDSS on April 7 where students could nominate a teacher to get pied in the face by donating to support transplant research. At that fundraiser, she also spoke with participants about the importance of registering to be an organ donor. 

In a story shared on the school district's website, Boparai said her campaign was inspired by the experience of her nine-year-old brother Daya, who spent the first eight years of his life in and out of BC Children's Hospital for kidney dialysis and multiple surgeries.

鈥淟ast year, he was fortunate enough to have a kidney transplant, which has made such an incredible difference to his life. We are so thankful for the doctors and surgeons who have helped him over the years," Boparai said in a story posted to the school district's website.

"I wanted my capstone project to involve the medical field as I am hoping to pursue a career in medicine, and I also wanted to do something to give back to people in need.鈥�

Boparai told BC Transplant that the "singular choice of organ donation" changed the course of not only her brother鈥檚 life, but those of her entire family as well.

"Though Daya was lucky enough to match with a donor, there are still countless individuals in British Columbia, and around the world, waiting for transplants that could alter the course of their lives for the better,鈥� she said in a story posted to the BC Transplant website.

Sternberg, meanwhile, decided the best way to encourage her fellow Sands students to participate in her Green Shirt Day campaign was through treats, setting up a booth at her school to speak with students about organ donation and transplant, with baked goods on offer.

Sternberg also visited 20 classrooms at Sands, sharing her presentation with more than 400 students.

鈥淚 hoped to start a conversation. When students came home from Green Shirt Day, I hoped they were inspired to talk about it with their parents, who would then share with their friends,鈥� Sternberg said in a story posted to the BC Transplant website.

鈥淭his way, eventually my entire community would know the importance behind registering to be an organ donor.鈥� 

Other winners of this year's "Live Life. Pass It On" scholarship were Malia Kumar from 性视界传媒's Sullivan Heights Secondary, Niharika Yadav from 性视界传媒's Queen Elizabeth Secondary, and Simone Duifhuis from Vancouver's Churchill Secondary.

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