Board approves organ donation policy
CMA News 2000;10(6): 3
The CMA Board of Directors has approved a new organ and tissue donation and transplantation policy aimed at helping physicians help both patients and their families make informed choices concerning this potentially lifesaving decision.
The issue of organ donation in Canada has garnered a great deal of media attention recently, particularly given our relatively low national donor rate of 14.4 donors per million people. By comparison, Spain and the United States each have donor rates in the range of 22 donors per million.
"I congratulate those who helped develop this updated policy, but we still need to do something about the fact that Canada has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world," said Dr. Jim Lane of Coquitlam, BC.
Increasing the number of Canadians who donate their organs after death is a complex issue that has several proponents, including Canadian Alliance member of Parliament and emergency physician, Dr. Keith Martin. Martin and others espouse a national registry to help ensure that the wishes of potential donors are kept on file and difficult decisions are not left to grieving family members (see page 7).
The pros and cons of a national registry have been debated widely, including in the House of Commons, but in passing the new organ policy several board member said it was more important that family members knew the organ donation wishes of family members.
"The people who have to know the wishes of a patient are relatives," said Dr. Peter Barrett of Saskatoon, the CMA president-elect. "As someone who has been involved in situations like these for years it is imperative that families know of their loved ones' wishes because when you are dead you are no longer in charge."
The CMA will examine the issue of a national registry further but several members said that families will likely always have the last word and that an organ donor card cannot be a substitute for discussing the decision with family members.
"An national organ donor registry may or may not be a good idea but I know that no transplant team or organ procurement group is going to go against the wishes of the family," said CMA President Hugh Scully. "The fact is, it's a big obstacle."
The new policy, which replaces the original passed in 1987, encourages further discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of a national registry, but also urges that prospective donors "discuss their choice with their family to minimize uncertainty and possible conflicts."
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© 2000 Canadian Medical Association
