Sask. resident mulls moving out-of-province for faster kidney transplant

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing

Eden Janzen's "dial-a-versary" is coming up in July. That's what the 25-year-old is calling the day that will mark five years of her getting dialysis.

The Regina resident has been trying to make light of the situation, but Janzen says she's losing hope as years go by without a new kidney.

Now she's considering leaving Saskatchewan altogether. 

"I feel like it might not be possible here," she told CBC News on Wednesday.

Janzen was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2016. She started doing the medical work-up for a transplant in late 2019, but faced disruptions due to physical ailments and delays caused by the pandemic.

To get on the transplant waitlist, she needs surgery to get her parathyroid removed, which she says she's been waiting for since 2020.

"Basically it's just taking all the calcium and phosphorus out of my body, under my bones," she said.

There is a backlog of about 35,000 surgeries that built up during the pandemic, according to Health Minister Paul Merriman.

Janzen says if she's able to get the surgery done by the summer, along with all the necessary tests, it'll still take her anywhere from a year-and-a-half to two years to get on the kidney list, then several more years to actually get the transplant. 

Janzen said a friend who was on dialysis and on the transplant list in Saskatchewan for about eight years moved to Alberta about a year ago, and was able to get a kidney transplant after six months. 

"If you can go from eight years on a list here to six months somewhere else, that's life-changing. It's worth it," Janzen said.

Janzen said she's also looking at British Columbia and is currently discussing options with her doctor. 

Saskatoon resident Darren Penner is also among the thousands of Saskatchewan residents waiting for surgery.