Organ Donation: Helping Canadians who are Injured or Dying

In 2015, an American firefighter, Patrick Hardison, underwent the most complicated and extensive face transplant in history.  The man had sustained severe burns to his ears, nose, lips, eyelids, hair and upper torso, in the course of his work as a firefighter, when a roof collapsed while he was inside a burning home.   After the surgeries that gave the man a face again, Hardison commented that the face transplant surgery also gave him back his life and the ability to interact with his children in public. The massive soft-tissue transplant was made possible by a donor.

On November 17^th, in “Vital Bonds”, CBC’s The Nature of Things reported on how transplant medicine is evolving despite the shortage in organ donations.  Even in a developed nation such as Canada, there are far too few organ donations available to help accident victims and other Canadians in need.  The CBC report noted that more than 4,500 Canadians are on the waiting list for kidneys and every day, four people will die.

In a related CBC report, “Canadians are Dying because our Organ Donation Rate is Dismally low”, it was stated that one donor can save as many as eight people and benefit more than 75.  Sadly, hundreds die every year in Canada while waiting for an organ that is never received.   Canada rates within the bottom third of developed nations for organ donations. 

Until 2005, organs were accepted only if the donor met the criteria of brain death.  However, this was problematic because, in Canada, the second highest cause of death is heart disease and many other major organs may still be healthy and viable in such cases.  Now, about one third of donor donations in Canada involve people who suffered circulatory death (DCD).

Only about 20 per cent of Canadians are currently registered on their province’s organ registry, although many more in Ontario have indicated willingness to donate an organ on their health care or driver’s license renewal.  However, even for cases where a donor is registered, about 10 per cent of families have refused to allow their loved one’s organs to be donated and there is no legal basis for requiring the donor’s wishes to be granted when this occurs.  Anyone who has chosen to donate their organs is urged not only to register, but also to inform family members of their wishes. 

“Vital Bonds” reported that there is fortunately, a bright light in the organ transplant arena.  Transplant medicine is experiencing significant advances in technologies for keeping organs alive outside the body, in the understanding of organ rejection, and in methods of using stem cells to construct ‘bio-artificial’ organs.

The “Vital Bonds” program included a heart-breaking and emotional report on the family of a 28-year-old who had sustained a traumatic brain injury and were making the decision to donate.  Many Canadians wrote their thoughts and experiences in response to the airing, including many whose lives were saved through donations of a kidney, heart, lungs or another organ.  There were also comments from selfless Canadians who changed lives by contributing kidneys as a living donor.

Of course, deciding to be an organ donor is a very personal decision.  However, none of us knows when or if we or a loved one may be in a position where receiving an organ is a matter or life or death.  If you are considering or would like to register for an organ donation, Ontario residents can do so at the government Online Organ and Tissue Donor Registration site.  Just think how many lives can be saved if most Canadians register.

Sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/vital-bonds

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/canadians-are-dying-because-our-organ-transplant-rate-is-dismally-low