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COVID widened the gap for organ donations, say local doctors

Cambridge ranks 133 out of 170 communities in Ontario for registered donors
2022-01-27 Surgery
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, organ transplants in Ontario have dropped by nearly 100 successful transplants. 

While hospitals have been continuing with the life-saving procedures, the pandemic has made it harder to get living donors into operating rooms. 

Dr. David Cape is an ICU doctor at Cambridge Memorial Hospital and is a leader for the hospital’s organ and tissue transplantation.

He thinks because of the pandemic, Ontario Health has had trouble setting up appointments. And, with operating room space being limited, it has reduced the number of living donors.

Patients are already experiencing increasingly-long wait times for transplants and are known to wait several years before they can find a successful match.

Now, patients could be waiting even longer.

Todd Johns, known by many as the owner of Wuddup Dog in Preston, has to put his restaurant on hold while he focuses on a journey to being healthy. 

After struggling with diabetes his entire life,  Johns recently suffered massive organ failure and needs a new kidney and pancreas. 

But he understands the reality of finding a suitable donor as one of more than 1,600 people in Ontario waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.

“I’m gonna be waiting around four and a half years to get my transplant done,” Johns said. 

With fewer donors, the chances of finding the right match for a patient are narrowed by several factors, including blood type, health of patient, and organ type.

Organs are not retrieved from donors until a suitable recipient is confirmed and once removed, organs have a very limited window for transplantation.

A heart and lungs remain viable between four and six hours after death, livers must be transplanted within eight to 12 hours and kidneys are viable for 24 to 36 hours after being removed. In some cases, in order to donate an organ, a patient must die in hospital. 

“Unfortunately, it's a matter of waiting for the right person to die at the right time in the right location,” Johns said. 

During the pandemic, doctors were uncertain if an organ from someone who had died of COVID or had once contracted the virus would be eligible for organ donation. 

Ontario Health now says they take donations from these individuals because there is no evidence the virus can be passed during transplantation. 

Since the beginning of the year, at least four adults have received organs from donors who have died of COVID, according to Ontario Health.

Johns said he would be willing to take a transplant from someone who had died of COVID if it meant he would get his procedure done. 

“I’m vaccinated so I’m not worried. I’d rather die from COVID than kidney failure,” he said. 

Clinical Educator for Cambridge Memorial Hospital Vera Heldman, urges people to register to become a donor. 

“I think it's sad for me to see how many patients that we have who need kidneys or other organs. The more people that register, then, potentially, the more organ and tissue that may be available for those in need,” said Heldman. 

With lack of operating rooms and hospitals becoming infested with COVID, outbreak after outbreak, organ donations have seen a slight decline. CMH is thankful to the medical professionals who put their lives at risk and continued to perform these life saving procedures.

"We were hit very hard by the COVID pandemic. So this was a testament to our ability to keep these routine and very important and critical operations going through a really challenging time," said Heldman. 

Out of all the communities, Cambridge ranks 133 out of 170 in registered donors in the province.

In 2022, only two organs have found new life in a local patient in need. 


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Joe McGinty

About the Author: Joe McGinty

Joe McGinty is a multimedia journalist who covers local news in the Cambridge area. He is a graduate of Conestoga College and began his career as a freelance journalist at CambridgeToday before joining full time.
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