Saskatchewan below Canadian average for organ donors

When it comes to organ donations in Canada, Saskatchewan falls below the average.

Less than one per centof people who die in Saskatchewan donate an organ or tissue.

There were 11 deceased donors in the province in 2015.

Health Minister Dustin Duncan tabled a motion in the legislature Thursday to review Saskatchewan's current efforts on organ and tissue donation.

The standing committee on human services will be tasked with recommending ways of improving the rate of donations.

"There are still far too many Saskatchewan people waiting for a transplant that will improve their quality of life or even save their life," Duncan said. "Sadly, some will not receive that call in time. That's why our government has initiated this review."

Most kidney and cornea transplants for Saskatchewan residents are performed in the province.Patients needing transplants other than kidney or cornea are referred to transplant centres in other provinces.

At the end of March of this year, there were 95 Saskatchewan residents still waiting for a kidney transplant. 68 people are waiting for a cornea transplant.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives. One tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 75 people according to the Saskatchewan government.

Duncan said this is the right time for the health ministry to encourage the people of Saskatchewan to sign more donor cards and put the donor sticker on their health cards.

Duncan says there also has to be a conversation with Saskatchewan residents on other ways to increase the number of donors.

He saidthere are other countries that have two to three times the number of donors we have here.Countries like Spain and Brazil moved towards presumed consent or an opt-out registry.

But Duncan saidthere hasn't been a lot of work done in Canada on this particular issue.

Saskatchewan NDP Health critic Danielle Chartier saidthe province needs to look at hiring donor physicians. Chartier saidthey would work in a part-time role as a facilitator, as it can be very difficult for doctors to ask the question of families after the death of a loved one.

"They've been told by the medical community that one of the best ways of getting donations is having trained professionals working with families because death is incredibly awkward," Chartier said.

It is expected that the committee will provide its recommendations for increasing the organ donation rate in Saskatchewan by Nov.30.