Training and awareness programs are boosting B.C.’s organ donations, with a 25 per cent increase in deceased donors making 2017 a record-breaking year.

More donations of lungs and kidneys led to 479 lives saved in the province last year, and Dr John Yee, the medical director of the B.C. Lung Transplant Program, said the increase is a result of seeds that were planted almost 10 years ago.

B.C. Transplant placed special nurse educators in health authorities across the province who