Manitoba: A Leader in Kidney Transplants

The need for kidney transplants increases annually...

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing problem worldwide. Between the late 1980s and 1990, the rate of ESRD grew at a compound rate of over 7% per year. The development of ESRD is associated with a reduction in health-related quality of life and a risk of premature death. Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for ESRD as it prolongs survival, improves quality of life and is less costly than dialysis. There is a need therefore for increased resource allocation to renal transplantation.

Kidney transplantation has been performed in Manitoba since 1969. To date, 1125 such transplants have been done, and there are currently almost 500 adult patients with a kidney transplant followed as outpatients in the Program. Yearly kidney transplant rates in Manitoba have varied considerably.

In the last decade the lowest yearly transplant rate occurred in 1998, with 26 kidney transplants performed, and a high of 49 transplants occurred in 1995. In 2004 and 2005 only 28 and 30 kidney transplants were performed, respectively. Therefore, in 2005, the Adult Kidney Transplant Program proposed the creation of an Organ Donor Organization (ODO) and requested support from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) for additional resources in an effort to improve on accessibility to renal transplantation and promote an increase in the number of transplants performed. The support of this request by the WRHA has resulted in an increase in renal transplants performed in Manitoba in 2006 to 48 renal transplants, the second highest number of transplants performed in a year in the entire history of the Program.

With continued support from the WRHA, the Adult Kidney Transplant Program has targeted 60 transplants per year as its goal for the future.

Sign Up For Life!

Sign Up For Life (signupforlife.ca) is an online registery where Manitobans can record their wishes to be an organ/and or tissue donor after death.

Many people have a donor card, but you should also register online.  A donor card is just a piece of paper that indicates your wish to be a donor.  Because most people keep their cards in their wallets and often do not come to hospitals with the card on them, it may not be there with the information is neede.  This means your decision to donate is only known to the family and friends you've shared it with.  By registering your intent to donate, you ensure that your decision is recorded and can be made available to your loved ones when they need to know.

Organ donation saves and improves the quality of life for thousands of Canadians, like you, every day.  We currently do not have enough donors to meet the needs for transplants.  One person dies while waiting for a transplant ever 36 hours.  Why not give these people a second chance?

Not only does registering your wishes to be an organ and/or tissue donor help someone else, it helps your family as well.  When you register your donation wishes, this information is recorded and stored in a Manitoba ehealth database and will be made available to your family at the right time, ensuring that your donation decision is known and respected.  By making your donation decision today, you relieve your family of the burden to make this decision on your behalf .

Be a hero.  Be an organ and tissue donor.