2021 ORGAN DONATION REPORT: Quebec records a significant increase in the number of people on the waiting list

MONTREAL, Feb. 23, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Transplant Québec is reporting that the number of Quebecers waiting for a transplant increased by more than 10%, or 86 people, in 2021, the sharpest such increase in 10 years, according to data made public today by the organization. While the number of people waiting for a liver or a kidney transplant has increased, the number of people waiting for a lung transplant is the lowest ever recorded. Meanwhile, Quebec posted a record number of lung transplants in 2021 (72), thereby confirming the trend observed in the last three years.

While organ donation activities, to varying degrees, have resumed in the past year, they remain below average compared to donation activities prior to the pandemic. In fact, the year 2021 saw a slight increase in activities, notably in terms of potential donor referrals. In spite of everything, a decrease in the number of donors and transplant recipients has been observed, compared to results seen before the onset of the pandemic.

"In order to be effective and to make Quebec an organ donation leader, we must make a priority of modernizing the legislation in support of organ donation for the benefit of donors, patients waiting for a transplant, transplant recipients and their families," said Louis Beaulieu, the executive director of Transplant Québec. "Organ donors are extremely rare. For each potential donor who is not referred, there are up to eight people whose lives could have been saved through transplantation."

Three best-performing regions in Quebec
In regards to referrals, the metropolitan region posted the best performance, pro-rated to its population, with a rate of 15 potential donors per 100,000 inhabitants, followed closely by the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Gaspésie-Îles-la-Madeleine regions. Referrals to Transplant Québec are made by a health professional who identifies a potential donor based on standard procedures in organ donation or organ donation in a medical aid in dying context.

2021 at a glance:

• 724 organ donation referrals made to Transplant Québec.
• 888 people registered on the single waiting list managed by Transplant Québec as of December 31, 2021.
• 409 people received a transplant in Quebec thanks to the generosity of deceased donors and their families.
• Wait times for liver and lung transplant recipients decreased considerably, by as much as 43% and 60%, while wait times for heart transplant recipients increased by 45%.
• Some 144 deceased donors in Quebec made it possible to transplant no fewer than 505 organs.
• The increase in the number of organs used per donor made it possible to increase the number of transplant recipients (19) by 4%, without a corresponding increase in the number of donors.
• Close to 60% of donors were between the ages of 50 and 70.

The full report is available here.

About Transplant Québec
Transplant Québec has a mandate from the Minister of Health and Social Services to save lives and improve the health of persons in need of a transplant by coordinating the organ donation process, ensuring the equitable allocation of organs, supporting best clinical practices through consensus-building and the mobilization of its partners, and promoting organ donation in the society at large. Transplant Québec therefore works to ensure that the greatest possible number of Quebecers waiting for an organ can benefit from a transplant in as timely a fashion as practicable.

SOURCE Transplant Québec

Annie-Carole Martel, Transplant Québec, 514-286-1414, extension 216 / 514-349-0752, [email protected], Diane Jeannotte, 514-772-8019, [email protected]