Organ Donations Lag Behind Demand

By Katie Chalmers

April 18, 2004

More than 1,000 of the chronically ill Canadians waiting for a new, lifesaving organ will die before their wish is granted. The lives of up to 30% of the 4,000 transplant patients across the country are not saved in time, statistics show.

At any one time, 80 Manitobans are waiting for a kidney transplant while another 100 are undergoing an evaluation for the procedure.

"The donor rate certainly has not kept up with the need," said Sybil Stokoloff of the Manitoba Transplant Program.

Five Canadian patients died every week last year while waiting for new organs, including kidneys, livers, hearts and lungs, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

In 2003, doctors performed 40 kidney transplants and 10 lung transplants in Manitoba -- the only type of organ transplant surgeries offered in the province. Heart recipients are forced to travel elsewhere in Canada for the procedure, such as Ontario or Alberta, said Stokoloff, the program's organ donor awareness co-ordinator.

The criteria for a match is based on blood and tissue type. Organ donors are often healthy people who suffered irreversible brain damage during a hemorrhage or a motor vehicle accident.

Liver, pancreas and small bowel round out the organ donation list, alongside tissue donations of corneas, heart valves, skin, solid bone and joints.

One donor can help save 10 or more people. Donor cards can be obtained by calling 787-1897.

Copyright © 2004 Canoe, a division of Netgraphe, Inc.

This article posted April 24, 2004.