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Canada’s Organ Donation Rate Still Too Low to Meet the Need, Reports CIHI

Cadaveric organ donation static over the past 10 years; living organ donation little changed in past 3 years

In this release:

Lung Transplants Growing | National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week | About CIHI | Tables/Charts | Contact

(April 14, 2004) — New data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) show that the rate of organ donation in Canada continues to fall short of meeting the need for organ transplantation. Data released today show that Canada’s cadaveric donor rate was 13.5 per million population in 2003, a rate that has been stagnant over the past 10 years. For the third year in a row, the number of living donors in Canada was greater than the number of deceased donors – 438 compared to 428. However, while the number of living donors has doubled in the past 10 years, it has plateaued over the past 2 years.

“The flat donor rate in Canada over the past 10 years is in part due to socio-demographic factors such as the aging population and fewer traumatic injury deaths, says Dr. John Gill, a kidney transplant physician in Vancouver and advisor to CIHI. “Canada’s aging population not only contributes to increased demand for organ transplantation, but also affects the capacity for cadaveric donors to donate – many older donors have health conditions that preclude their organs from being retrieved and used for transplantation”.

The number of Canadians on waiting lists for an organ at the end of 2003 was 3,914 (124 out of every million Canadians), a decrease from the two previous years (3,956 patients waiting in 2002 and 3,964 in 2001). “Unfortunately”, says Dr. Gill, “I believe that the small decline in the number of people on wait lists does not reflect a reduction in the need for organs. Rather, given the long waits for a transplant, there is a growing trend among physicians in Canada to list patients at later stages in their end-stage organ disease.”

Patients waiting for a kidney transplant comprised 73% of the waiting list at the end of 2003. In total, 250 patients – approximately five every week – died while waiting for new organs last year. This included 82 patients waiting for a kidney, 100 waiting for a liver, 30 waiting for a heart, 26 waiting for a lung, and 12 patients waiting for other organs or combination transplants. The Canadian transplant waiting list is roughly half that of the US on a rate per million basis. This is directly related to higher transplantation rates made possible by higher cadaveric and living organ donation in the US.

In 2003, each deceased donor in Canada helped an average of three patients with end-stage organ failure. Living donors provided 403 kidneys and 35 liver lobes. Living donor transplantation represented 38% of all kidney transplants and 9% of all liver transplants in 2003.

“Canada does not yet have a reliable information collection procedure to assess the extent to which Canadian hospitals can identify potential donors, and take the steps to maximize organ use from each donor,” says Dr. Gill. “We know that despite the aging population and changes in causes of death, there is some room for Canada to improve its donation rate.”

Only Lung Transplant Rates Are Growing

Canada’s heart transplantation rate has remained flat over the past decade, ranging between 4.9 and 6.2 per million population. The heart transplant rate is a strong indicator of the static organ donor rates from deceased donors. Nationally, kidney and liver transplantation activity has been fairly static since 1999. The low cadaveric donation rate for livers has been offset to some extent in recent years by increased living organ donation. Lung transplantation is the one area where there has been growth since 1999. During the last four years, the number of lung/heart-lung transplants averaged 127, compared to an average of 86 during the previous four years . This is attributed to the increased retrieval of lungs from cadaveric donors in Canada, and a net increase in imports of lungs from the US . Cross-border organ sharing occurs when there are no matched recipients within the country who could benefit from the available donor organs.

Data come from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR), a national database on organ transplantation and donation managed by the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI). These data are made available by the 10 organ procurement organizations operating in Canada.

National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week

“National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, April 18-24, is a good time for Canadians to remember how they can help one another,” says Dr. Gill. “ One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and, save or improve up to 50 lives through corneal, bone, skin and other tissue transplants. We encourage people to sign their donor cards or register as donors with their provincial organ procurement organization. Most importantly, we urge people to talk to their family members about their wishes in terms of organ and tissue donation.”

Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, pan-Canadian, not-for-profit organization working to improve the health of Canadians and the health care system by providing quality health information. CIHI’s mandate, as established by Canada’s health ministers, is to coordinate the development and maintenance of a common approach to health information for Canada. To this end, CIHI is responsible for providing accurate and timely information that is needed to establish sound health policies, manage the Canadian health system effectively and create public awareness of factors affecting good heath. CORR became a registry of CIHI in 1995.

Tables/Charts

• Figure 1. Organ Donors, Canada, 1994–2003 (Number)
  
• Figure 2. Organ Donors, Canada and Provinces, 2003 (Rate per Million Population)
  
• Table 1. Organ Transplants, Canada, 1994-2003 (Number)
  
• Figure 3. Patients Waiting for Transplants at Year-end, Canada, 1994-2003 (Number)
  
• Figure 4. Patients Waiting for a Transplant by Organ Type, Canada and US, 2003 (Rate per Million Population)

Contact

Anick Losier
Media Relations
Tel. (613) 241-7860 x 4004
Cell (613) 294-9544
media@cihi.ca

Leona Hollingsworth
Media Relations
Tel. (613) 241-7860 x 4140
media@cihi.ca

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Page last updated April 13, 2004