Saskatchewan Coalition For Organ Donor Awareness

A total of 28 hospitals throughout the country perform organ transplants.

Nearly all types of transplant operations can be performed in at least one location in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are more limited in the ability to perform all transplant procedures.

In 2000, 1,882 organ transplants were done in Canada (Canadian Association For Transplantation) -- 261 more than in 1998 (Canadian Institute for Health Information).

Since 1981 there have been more than 2,000 heart transplants done in this country.

In 2000, 2,602 corneal transplants were done in Canada.

By far, the most common organs transplanted are kidneys, nearly two-thirds of all transplants :

Organ	# Transplanted in 2000 (CAT)	# Transplanted in 1998 (CIHI)
Kidney	1112 (724 cadaveric and 388 living)	991 (665 cadaveric and 336 living)
Liver	408	342
Heart	172	154
Lung	120 lung and 4 heart/lung	75 lung and 7 heart/lung
Pancreas	18 pancreas and 47 pancreas/kidney	9 pancreas and 33 pancreas/kidney
Bowel	1	2
Total	1882	1613

Annual Number of Donors in Canada (1992 - 1998)

Annual Number of Donors in Canada

There are never enough donors

Nearly 3,700 Canadians are waiting for organ transplants that could enhance, even save their lives.
In 2000, 147 patients on transplant waiting lists died when no organ became available.
As of April 2001 there were 3,269 Canadians waiting for a corneal transplant.

What Canadians think about organ and tissue donation

78% of Canadians believe there is a great need for organs.
71% are willing to donate any organs needed for transplantation.
Women are more willing to become organ donors than men.
Some regions of Canada are more willing to donate than others:

	Any organs needed	Only certain organs	Prefer not to donate
Québec	76%	6%	15%
BC	75%	7%	14%
Prairies	69%	11%	15%
Ontario	68%	12%	14%
Atlantic	66%	14%	16%

As house hold income increases, so does the willingness to donate any needed organs:

Household income	Willingness to donate, %
< $ 30,000	67
$30,000 to $ 60,000	72
> $ 60,000	74

These groups are more willing than their comparison groups to donate any organs needed for transplantation:

women
the middle-aged
those with at least a high school diploma
those earning a higher income

The common factor shared by these groups is that they are more likely to have discussed organ donation with family members.

Donors

Donor demographic information

average age of a cadaveric donor is between 34-48 years old.

Donor medical information

There are two categories of human donors: cadaveric and living.
Cadaveric donors constitute the most common group for organs and tissues.
The primary category of cadaveric organ donor is the brain-dead donor.
Only two to three per cent of all deaths are as a result of brain death.
79.1% of cadaveric donors are multi-organ donors.
Organ donors typically die from a stroke, severe head trauma or other oxygen-depriving brain injury.
The most common cause of death for organ donors (48%) is an intracranial event such as a cerebral bleed.
Head traumas such as those from motor vehicle accidents or gunshot wounds account for approximately 33% of donor deaths.
Someone who was killed at the scene of an accident cannot be an organ donor because the vital organs have stopped functioning, and cell damage begins to occur immediately but he/she can still be a tissue donor. Tissues such as eyes, heart valves, veins, bones and skin can be donated within a certain time limit after death.

Recipients

Recipient demographic information

Most common recipient is a middle-aged caucasian male
87% of recipients are 18-64 years old
65% of all recipients are male
84% of heart transplant recipients are men

Recipient medical information

One-year survival rates:

Transplanted organ	Survival rate
Living-related kidney	98%
Cadaveric kidney	95%
Liver	90%
Heart	85%
Pancreas	79%
Small intestine	70%
Multi-organ	70%
Lung	65%
Heart-lung	65%

Statistics

We know that in Canada:

Donors

Donor medical information

Recipients