Grieving families are blocking the organ donations of one in five Ontarians who registered to donate before they died, the Star has learned.
Data obtained by the Star from the Trillium Gift of Life Network reveals how often opportunities for potentially life-saving transplants are lost because of family objections — a number that has steadily risen over the past three years
Whitby’s Colin Arnott said he was “surprised” when asked by Trillium representatives to “reaffirm” the consent of his brother, a registered donor who died following a stroke in 2013.
“They told us Ken had signed his donor card — I didn’t know he had — and asked us if it was true those were his wishes,” he said. “I was surprised why they were asking us to affirm his decision if he already filled out the forms and signed his donor card.”
Like the majority of families, Arnott gave the go-ahead for his relative’s donation to move forward. Yet provincial data shows the number of cases where families step in to quash a loved one’s donation is rising.
In 2013, the province’s organ and transplant registrar recorded 14.5 per cent of families (representing 26 registered donors) who refused consent, a number that climbed to 21.1 per cent (62 donors) last year.
Given that one donor can save eight lives, the would-be donors could have meant a lot of good news for 1,524 people in need of an organ transplant on Ontario’s wait list. Experts say the refusals could prove fatal to those left waiting for a donor.
“If you have someone willing to donate and their family overrides it, there are consequences where people on waiting lists may die as a result,” said Jennifer Chandler, the University of Ottawa’s Bertram Loeb Chair in Organ and Tissue Donation. “At the same time, a bereaved family’s psychological needs have to be taken into consideration as well.”
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https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...y-blocking-organ-donations-of-loved-ones.html
Data obtained by the Star from the Trillium Gift of Life Network reveals how often opportunities for potentially life-saving transplants are lost because of family objections — a number that has steadily risen over the past three years
Whitby’s Colin Arnott said he was “surprised” when asked by Trillium representatives to “reaffirm” the consent of his brother, a registered donor who died following a stroke in 2013.
“They told us Ken had signed his donor card — I didn’t know he had — and asked us if it was true those were his wishes,” he said. “I was surprised why they were asking us to affirm his decision if he already filled out the forms and signed his donor card.”
Like the majority of families, Arnott gave the go-ahead for his relative’s donation to move forward. Yet provincial data shows the number of cases where families step in to quash a loved one’s donation is rising.
In 2013, the province’s organ and transplant registrar recorded 14.5 per cent of families (representing 26 registered donors) who refused consent, a number that climbed to 21.1 per cent (62 donors) last year.
Given that one donor can save eight lives, the would-be donors could have meant a lot of good news for 1,524 people in need of an organ transplant on Ontario’s wait list. Experts say the refusals could prove fatal to those left waiting for a donor.
“If you have someone willing to donate and their family overrides it, there are consequences where people on waiting lists may die as a result,” said Jennifer Chandler, the University of Ottawa’s Bertram Loeb Chair in Organ and Tissue Donation. “At the same time, a bereaved family’s psychological needs have to be taken into consideration as well.”
more
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...y-blocking-organ-donations-of-loved-ones.html
