In all, 510 people received organ donation in 2017. This figure was 480 in 2016 and 507 in 2015.
Over the past five years, 2,442 patients have benefited from organ donation in Quebec.
Year after year, kidney transplants are the most common in the province. Last year, 293 kidneys were transplanted. The lung transplant follows with 130 transplants, 117 patients received a liver transplant, 44 people got a new heart and 6 patients underwent a pancreas transplant.
Finally, seven patients benefited from a pancreatic islet transplant, a treatment described as “innovative” for treating diabetes.
This new peak in the number of transplant recipients in the province is attributable to an increase in the number of donors. Again, this is a record in Quebec.
In 2017, Quebec doctors managed to harvest organs from 182 deceased donors. They were 170 in 2016 and 172 in 2015.
Incidentally, the waiting list has shrunk considerably in recent years. As of Dec. 31, 786 people expected to receive an organ donation, a 40 percent decrease in six years.
The General Manager of Transplant Quebec, Louis Beaulieu, is delighted with these “promising” data. However, he hastens to add that progress can still be made. “There are still people who die on the waiting list,” he slips.
Transplant Québec’s objective is to reach the plateau of 700 people transplanted per year by 2021. To achieve this, more donors will have to be found. “We have to increase our number of donors to 220 and to get there, we have to invest more,” says Beaulieu.
A choice that pays off for society as a whole, he adds. With kidney transplants alone, recurring annual savings of $ 17 million are achieved by avoiding patients having to undergo dialysis treatments.
Three axes have been identified by Transplant Québec to achieve this objective: training hospital staff so that they are able to identify and refer donors, organization of organ donation services to enable them to be better structured and educate the public.
Several conditions to meet
Louis Beaulieu points out that more than 3 million Quebecers have given their consent for their organs to be removed upon their death.
Several conditions must however be met for this wish to materialize, he underlines. The patient must die in the hospital, he must be brain dead, the hospital staff must be able to maintain blood circulation as well as breathing so that the organs do not deteriorate, they must be in good health. good condition, etc.
Incidentally, it’s just over one percent of people who die in hospital who have the potential to become organ donors.
“Of the 30,000 deaths that occur in hospital each year in Quebec, this represents a potential of 350 donors if all the conditions are met,” explains Mr. Beaulieu.
“We are working on very small numbers. Every time there are 100 deaths in the hospital, there are one or two donors. This is why it is very important to properly train staff and organize services well. ”
It is also crucial to clearly state your will to those close to you. “When organ donation occurs, it is always in a very difficult situation, so when we have already communicated our decision to our loved ones, it is much easier for them to honor our will.”
Three ways to express consent for organ and tissue donation
- Registration in the Organ and Tissue Donation Consents Register of the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec
- Signature of the sticker on the back of the health insurance card
- Registration in the Register of consents to organ and tissue donation of the Chambre des notaires du Québec
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