Technical Issue with Online Organ and Tissue Donor Registration Corrected

TORONTO, Sept. 30, 2014 /CNW/ - Earlier this month, Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) was informed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and ServiceOntario of an issue related to organ and tissue donor registrations which were processed online.

Between March 23, 2013 and September 19, 2014, exclusion information was incorrectly recorded when a person registered as an organ and tissue donor, or updated their registration, online. Exclusions are when a registered donor chooses to exclude certain organs or tissue from their consent for donation.

As soon as the specific problem was identified, our partner ServiceOntario promptly disabled online registration. The issue has now been resolved and online donor registration is once again available through www.BeADonor.ca and ServiceOntario.ca/BeADonor.

TGLN has conducted a thorough review to determine the impact of this issue. No donations have taken place which were not in keeping with the donor's wishes, and no donation opportunities have been missed. There also has been no impact to the privacy and security of the information of any person who has registered their consent online, or otherwise.

Just under 60,000 Ontarians registered or updated their registration online between March 23, 2013 and September 19, 2014. Those individuals are being asked to now update their information to make sure it is both complete and accurate. Letters will be mailed to each affected person beginning this week. These letters will include instructions on how to update their registration to ensure it is both complete and accurate. ServiceOntario has also set up a telephone hotline at 1-844-209-9287 should these individuals have additional questions.

"We want to assure the public that donor registration is secure and desperately needed," says Ronnie Gavsie, President and CEO of Trillium Gift of Life Network. "There are 1,500 Ontarians waiting for the gift of a lifesaving transplant. Donor registration saves lives."

Online donor registration is back up and running. Please visit www.BeADonor.ca to register your consent.

Relevant Facts

• Between March 23, 2013 and September 19, 2014, just under 60,000 people registered their wishes online; those individuals are being asked to now update their registration to ensure its accuracy.
• Of those who registered their donation wishes online between March 23, 2013 and September 19, 2014, nine individuals became deceased tissue donors during this same period. TGLN has confirmed that their donation was in keeping with their wishes and that the technical issue had no impact whatsoever.
• TGLN has confirmed that the technical issue did not result in any missed opportunities for organ or tissue donation.
• TGLN always seeks consent from a potential donor's family for organ and tissue donation, as would be the case for any individual affected by this technical issue. TGLN will disclose any uncertainty about a potential donor's registration wishes based on this technical issue with their family.
• People who have not registered as an organ and/or tissue donor are not affected by this technical issue. People who registered or updated their consent in person at a ServiceOntario centre, or by mail are also not affected by this technical issue.
• One organ donor can save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue donation.
• Currently 26% of Ontarians 16 years of age or over are registered organ and tissue donors.

Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation for transplantation across Ontario and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.

SOURCE: Trillium Gift of Life Network

Leona Hollingsworth, Trillium Gift of Life Network, (o) 416-619-2363, (c) 416-689-7711, [email protected]