Organ donations on the rise New statistics released by Canadian Blood Services and the Canadian Institute for Health Information show organ donations are on the rise in Alberta.
Organ donations on the rise
New statistics released by Canadian Blood Services and the Canadian Institute for Health Information show organ donations are on the rise in Alberta.
Alberta was among three provinces ranked for highest living donations, a rate of 19.8 living donors per million people.
The number has increased from 18.5 living donors per million people in 2015.
The report said the jump in organ donations is credited to new Canada-wide initiatives, such as the Kidney Paired Donation Program and the Highly Sensitized Patient Kidney Program. Both programs are designed to find kidneys for the most difficult people to match.
Across Canada the rate of living organ donations dropped by 11 per cent. Deceased organ donations, on the other hand, have increased by 42 per cent over the past decade.
The new statistics show Alberta had 70 deceased organ donors in 2016, a rate of 16.1 deceased donors per million people. This was an increase from 2015, when Alberta had a rate of 12.4 deceased organ donors per million people.
While the province has been boasting an increase in donor rates, it still lags behind the national average. In 2016 Canada ranked 20.9 deceased organ donors per million, an increase from 18.1 in 2015.
Though the country has seen an increase in organ donors, the two organizations say there’s still a shortage of organs available in Canada.
In 2016 Alberta had a wait list of 718 patients waiting for transplant surgery. 260 Canadians died last year while waiting for a transplant, 45 of those patients registered from Alberta.
Possible STI exposure at fertility and endocrine clinic in Edmonton
Alberta Health Services said some patients at the fertility clinic in the Royal Alexandra Hospital clinic could have been exposed to blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections.
Women who had an endovaginal ultrasound at the Royal Alexandra Hospital clinic between Nov. 14 and Nov. 20 could have been exposed due to a possible lapse in cleaning and disinfection procedures.
That includes “inconsistent tracking and documentation of the number of reprocessed probes available for endovaginal ultrasounds scheduled from Nov. 14 to 20, 2017, and over scheduling of procedures,” a release read.
141 patients have been notified of possible transmission, although AHS said that chances of exposure were exceedingly low.
Since it was discovered by AHS on Nov. 20, a number of preventative measures have been put in place at the clinic.
