Organ donors needed, report shows

New Brunswick health officials are calling for more people to become organ donors in light of the latest statistics released earlier this month by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

The report, Canadian Organ Replacement Register, shows the number of organ donations has stagnated across the country in recent years and the Atlantic provinces are no exception.

Meanwhile, wait lists are growing as the population ages and the need for organs outpaces the supply.

In 2010, the deceased donor rate per million population across Canada was 13.6, down slightly from 14.1 in 2006, the report shows.

Similarly, Atlantic Canada had a 13.6 deceased donor rate per million in 2010, down from 17.6 in 2006.

In New Brunswick, only seven people donated their organs after death last year, resulting in 28 organ transplants, according to local health officials.

Although that number has been consistent for the past five years, and is comparable to the rates in other provinces, its too low, said Saint John family doctor Michael Simon.

"This will be a big topic in the years ahead you can be sure as the population gets older, and sicker and the wait lists get longer," he said.

Awareness about helmet and seatbelt safety in recent years has reduced the number of brain injuries and cut down the list of potential donors, said Simon.

Make wishes known

In addition, many people don't know, or aren't comfortable with signing their intent to donate on their Medicare cards, he said.

Only one-third of the population is listed as organ donors on their Medicare cards, said Judy Cannon, of the Kidney Foundation's Saint John chapter.

She wants to see the number double.

Its also important that people make their wishes known to their families, who get the final say, even if someone has signed their donor card.

"A lot of people don't even think about organ donation or consider it until they're actually faced with it," said Cannon.

"And at that time it's a difficult decision to make when you're going through the loss of a loved one."

Greatest need for kidneys

In 2010,229 patients died across Canada while waiting for organs, the CIHI report shows.

The end of the year saw 501 patients still waiting for a liver, 135 for a heart, 310 for a lung and 98 for a pancreas. The vast majority of people waiting 3,362 patients needed a kidney.

Amongthose Canadians who received a kidney from a deceased donor, the median time spent on dialysis was 3.7 years, resulting in "substantial" costs to the health care system, according to the report.

CIHIs estimated cost for hemodialysis treatment is approximately $60,000 per patient per year.

By comparison, the one-time cost for a kidney transplant is approximately $23,000, plus $6,000 annually for the medication necessary to maintain the transplant.

"Over a five-year period, a transplant is therefore approximately $250,000 cheaper per patient than dialysis while improving quality of life," the report states.