1. Case Study / Montreal Children’s Hospital
Organ donation is a very important issue, but it’s
not top of mind for most people. For 15 year-old
Vincent Lambert and his family, however, organ
donation is the number one thing they think
about: they’ve spent the last eight months in the
Montreal Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive
Care Unit waiting for a heart donor. When Vincent
was just three months old, a virus attacked his
heart and his health has been declining ever
since. In the spring of 2011, he entered full-blown
heart failure. Since September 18th, 2011, Vincent
has been kept alive by a Berlin heart, a mechanical
device that beats in place of his own heart.
He is patiently waiting for the news that a heart
donor has been found so he can undergo a
much-anticipated heart transplant operation.
And while he is on the top of the pan-Canadian
transplant list, it doesn’t make waiting any easier.
The hospital is a tough place for a teenage boy to
spend Christmas, birthdays and special occasions.
With the help and support of her small team of
colleagues, Pamela Toman, a Public Relations
and Communications Officer for the hospital,
decided to try social media as a way to share
Vincent’s story and increase awareness about
the importance of organ donation. Pamela was
able to quickly craft a social media strategy that
focused on Vincent’s story. The hashtag #Aheart
4Vincent/#UncoeurpourVincent was created and
the campaign got off to a great start.
Using Radian6, Pamela has been able to track
the hospital’s efforts, find influencers and gauge
the reach of the campaign. In just a few short
days Pamela saw the campaign gain momentum
with thousands of mentions, several stories on
national news broadcasts, and a host of support
from well-known personalities including star
players from the Montreal Canadiens, members
of Simple Plan, Ben Mulroney and Ronnie Magro
from Jersey Shore.
“We are so excited and pleased to see that our
message is reaching people across Canada, and
more importantly that it is resonating with the
public,” says Pamela. “We want people to really
stop and think about organ donation, and ensure
that they make their wishes known to their
families.”
Social media has been a great tool to raise
awareness about organ donation, and it has
also given Vincent the chance to connect with
other people who have gone through the same
experience. Over the past few weeks, he has
heard from several people who have received
heart transplants. With a newfound love for
social media, Vincent has created his own Twitter
handle @VincentLamber15 and is tweeting up a
storm from his hospital bed.
To learn more about how you can help share
Vincent’s story, visit The Montreal Children’s
Hospital’s website or Twitter page and take a
few moments to find out how you can help other
children like Vincent by becoming an organ donor.
The Montreal Children’s Hospital uses social
media to get people to sign on the dotted line.
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