New record achieved for organ donation in Ontario

Trillium Gift of Life Network pushing hard to maintain momentum and continue education campaign

April 24, 2006

TORONTO /CNW/ -- Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) kicked off National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness week by announcing a 19 percent increase in deceased organ donors for the 2005/2006 fiscal year marking the most donations in Ontario on record for a fiscal or calendar year.

"We are very proud of the health care professionals, hospitals and Ontarians who worked together to achieve this record," said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN. "This kind of significant increase means that people are making a conscious decision to save the lives of others and for the 1758 people on the waiting list in this province today, this is fantastic news."

There were 169 deceased donors in fiscal 2005/2006 up from 142 in fiscal 2004/2005. The previous record for organ donation was set in 2000 with 166 deceased donors.

"These results are great news for the many men, women and children who are on the waiting list here in Ontario," said the Honourable George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. "But we need to keep working on this and I encourage Ontarians to sign their donor cards and have the conversation with their families about organ and tissue donation. As we can see from these results today, it's a decision that can save lives."

On March 21, TGLN announced that in the 10 weeks following the enactment of legislation to improve organ and tissue donations throughout the province, referrals from hospitals have tripled leading to increases in organ and tissue donation. At that time, Markel also detailed a series of initiatives that are being undertaken to increase organ and tissue donation rates in Ontario.

"On behalf of Ontario's doctors, I want to congratulate TGLN for achieving this milestone," said Dr. Greg Flynn, President of the Ontario Medical Association. "We remain committed to working on behalf of our patients who are on the waiting list and encouraging the public to consider organ and tissue donation so that more patients can receive the gift of life."

Today in Ontario, 1758 patients are on the transplant waiting list. Of those, 1097 are men, 661 are women and 43 of those patients are children.

"We are so pleased to be able to share these kind of encouraging results during this important week of awareness," said Markel. "But we are very serious about doing better in Ontario. We at TGLN will continue working hard with our health care partners to maintain momentum and continue the education campaign. We want to ensure that Ontario has an effective, efficient and safe organ and tissue donation and organ transplantation system that works for all Ontarians - for donors, their families and the patients who need an organ transplant."

National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week runs from April 23-30.

For more details on National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week events, or for local waiting list numbers please go to Trillium or call 416.363.4001 or toll free 1-800-263-2833.

Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario and is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation across Ontario and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.

For further information: Jennifer Tracey, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Trillium Gift of Life Network, (416) 619-2299 (direct line), (416) 573-0977 (cell); Kari Cuss, Public Affairs and Communications, (416) 619-2300 (direct line), (416) 802-0939 (cell).

Copyright © 2005 CNW Group Ltd.

This article posted May 28, 2006.