Hélène Campbell (born 18 April 1991) is a Canadian organ‑donation activist who gained international attention for publicly documenting her struggle with severe lung disease and her subsequent double‑lung transplants. Her advocacy, amplified through social‑media campaigns and high‑profile celebrity endorsements, has been credited with significantly increasing organ‑donor registrations in Canada.
Early life and medical condition
Campbell grew up in the Ottawa region. From childhood she experienced chronic breathing difficulties, initially misdiagnosed as asthma at age 12. As she entered adulthood her pulmonary function declined sharply, reaching 26 % of normal capacity in September 2011 and dropping to 24 % shortly thereafter. In late 2011 she was diagnosed with advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable disease that scars lung tissue and typically necessitates transplantation.
Transplant and activism
Because lung transplantation was not performed in Ottawa, Campbell and her mother relocated to Toronto in January 2012 to join the transplant waiting list. While awaiting a donor organ, she launched the website alungstory.ca and began posting updates on Twitter under the hashtag #BeAnOrganDonor, urging the public to register as organ donors. Her posts attracted the attention of celebrities, notably Justin Bieber, who retweeted her campaign in January 2012, and Ellen DeGeneres, who later interviewed Campbell on her talk show.
On 6 April 2012, Campbell underwent a successful double‑lung transplant at Toronto General Hospital. Due to her small stature, surgeons performed a lobar transplant, using partial donor lungs. The operation lasted seven hours and involved a ten‑member surgical team. After recovering, Campbell continued her advocacy, launching the Give2Live campaign in 2013 to raise funds for transplant‑related travel and accommodation expenses.
In September 2017, Campbell received a second double‑lung transplant after her body began rejecting the 2012 graft.
Impact (“the Hélène Effect”)
Between December 2011 and April 2012, more than 8,000 Ottawa residents registered as organ donors, a surge attributed by the Trillium Gift of Life Network to Campbell’s public campaign.
Awards and recognition
- May 2012: Received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for raising organ‑donation awareness.
- 2012: Inducted into the Order of Ottawa.
- 2013: United Way Community Builder Award.
- 2016: A portion of Jockvale Road in Barrhaven was renamed Hélène Campbell Road.
- 2018: Awarded the Key to the City of Ottawa.
Public presence
Campbell’s story has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and television appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She remains an active spokesperson for organ‑donation initiatives in Canada.