On 7 March 2016, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (“the Committee”) agreed to study the status of Canada’s organ and tissue donation procurement system and examine the findings and the implementation of the recommendations of the Call to Action: A strategic plan to improve organ and tissue donation and transplantation performance for Canadian. As part of this study, the Committee held two meetings, which took place on 7 and 9 May 2018. During these meetings, the Committee heard from a range of witnesses, including representatives from Canadian Blood Services, provincial organ donation and procurement organizations, researchers and health care providers and health charities. The testimony of these witnesses focused primarily on the role the federal government could play in strengthening Canada’s organ donation and transplantation system.

The Committee heard from witnesses that while there has been significant improvement in deceased organ donor rates over the past 10 years, there is more work to be done to realize Canada’s potential in organ donation and transplantation. The Committee heard that there were 4,492 Canadians on the organ donation waitlist in Canada in 2016 and 260 Canadians on that list died that same year waiting for a transplant.[1] Witnesses also explained that there continues to be inequity in access to organ donation and transplantation programs across the country. Though some jurisdictions in Canada are considered to be centres of excellence in organ donation and transplantation, others lack the resources and capacity to adopt best practices in this area. In addition, the Committee heard that limited public awareness and public discourse about organ donation means that there are also challenges related to consent to organ donation in Canada. Finally, witnesses explained that there needs to be more research and better data collection to help identify potential organ donors within health care systems and improve treatment outcomes for transplant patients.

The Committee heard that the federal government could help strengthen Canada’s organ donation and transplantation system by:

• supporting the adoption of best practices in organ donation and transplantation across all jurisdictions;
• investing in national public education and awareness campaigns to promote conversations among family members regarding organ donation;
• creating more opportunities for Canadians to register their decisions regarding organ donation; and
• providing sustained funding for research and data collection to ensure that organ transplantation results in improved health outcomes for Canadians.

The Committee agrees with witnesses that the federal government has a leadership role to play in strengthening Canada’s organ donation and transplantation system in these areas. It also believes that a more accessible and equitable organ donation and transplantation system in Canada requires closer collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments, which can be achieved through a stronger role for Canadian Blood Services in the coordination of organ donation and transplantation across the country. The Committee believes that the seven recommendations outlined in its report supports these objectives.