Pulse
Transplant queues grow as donor numbers wane
CMAJ 2000;162:1728
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Figures released recently by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) indicate that the national organ donation rate dropped 5% between 1997 and 1998, while the unmet demand for organs jumped by 13%.
CIHI data indicate that the rate of cadaveric donations was 13.7 per million population in 1998, and 14.4 the year before. Saskatchewan had the highest donation rate per million (21.4), while British Columbia (9.0) and the Atlantic region (9.3) had the lowest rates. (For a person to qualify as a cadaveric donor, the donation must originate in Canada, with at least one solid organ being used for transplantation.)
The average age of organ donors rose from 37 in 1997 to 42 in 1998, and 59% of organ donors in 1998 were male.
The number of transplants performed in Canada rose by 40% between 1992 and 1998, with most of the increase coming between 1993 and 1994, when the total jumped by 23%. The number of patients waiting for a transplant has increased by 56% since 1992.
In 1998, 3246 Canadians were awaiting an organ transplant, with patients requiring a new kidney accounting for 80% of that total. Only 4% of those on the waiting list needed a new heart. Of transplants performed in 1998, 61% involved kidneys, 10% hearts.
Canada's organ donation rate of 13.7 per million population is similar to the rates for countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden. However, we lag well behind the US, with a rate of 22 per million, and Spain (32 per million). — Shelley Martin, CMA, martis@cma.ca
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