Mandatory referral, more trained staff, public education all part of creating a “culture of donation” Ninety per cent of Canadians say they support organ donation, but only 32 per cent have actually registered to donate their organs or tissues, according to Canadian Blood Services. New measures in Alberta aim to close that gap through education,…
Every year, 200 to 250 Canadians die while waiting for an organ transplant
In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically-modified pig’s heart on Jan. 7. Almost two weeks later, the patient is reportedly still doing well. This surgery was a first, performed by a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It’s among the first…
The average wait for a liver transplant in Canada is 287 days. Dax was one of the lucky ones – his wait was just a few weeks
Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. tarting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…
Study undertaken to build trust with the public in the organ donation and transplantation process
A Canadian-led research project has confirmed that it’s safe to procure organs for transplant from dying patients once the heart has stopped for a full five minutes, in newly published findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers monitored blood pressure and electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms in 631 dying patients following the removal of life-supporting equipment…
Donated lungs viable for up to six times longer than storing them in ice before transplant
A University of Alberta-led trial has demonstrated the potential of the Ex-Vivo Organ Support System (EVOSS) device to increase life-saving opportunities for patients waiting for a lung transplant. The study, published in Nature Communications, confirmed the efficacy of the device in using negative pressure ventilation ex situ lung perfusion (NPV-ESLP) to assess and reclaim donor lungs that were…
Public appeals help raise awareness of the great need for live donors to come forward
The public response to the appeal on behalf of Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators hockey team, for a liver donor has been a heart-warming demonstration of the generosity of our community. Fortunately, a donor was found and the transplant was performed in time to save his life. But is it fair that he…