Did You Know? Liver Facts

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Fewer than 15 Canadians in a million are organ donors? It’s true. Canada’s organ donation rate ranks in the bottom half of countries in the western world where transplants are performed. More than 3,500 Canadians are waiting for an organ transplant, and every year nearly 150 of them die waiting.

We have some of the best transplant technology in the world, some of the most highly skilled surgeons, some of the most prestigious transplant hospitals, but there are never enough organs available to save enough lives.

Don’t let myths and rumours keep you from saving lives. Learn the facts

Myth: Doctors will not try to save my life if they know I want to be a donor.
Fact: The medical staff trying to save lives is completely separate from the transplant team. Donation takes place and transplant surgeons are called in only after all efforts to save a life have been exhausted and death is imminent or has been declared.

Myth:People can recover from brain death.
Fact:People can recover from comas, but not brain death. Coma and brain death are not the same. Brain death is final.

Myth: Minorities should refuse to donate because organ distribution discriminates by race.
Fact: Organs are matched by factors, including blood and tissue typing, which can vary by race. Patients are more likely to find matches among donors of their same race or ethnicity.

Myth: I am too old to donate organs and tissues.
Fact: People of all ages may be organ and tissue donors. Physical condition, not age, is important. Please sign a donor card; physicians will decide whether your organs and tissues can be transplanted.

Myth: Donation will disfigure my body.
Fact: Organs and tissues are removed in procedures similar to surgery, and all incisions are closed at the conclusion of the surgery. An open casket funeral is possible after donation.