Why organ donations are declining and how governments are reacting

Ontario and Nunavut opted into new legislation by the federal government hoping to increase organ donations as hundreds of patients die while on the waitlist each year.

Canadians support organ donation after death but fewer are registering for the practice, leaving hundreds of people dying while on waitlists each year.

To combat the trend, the federal government passed Bill C-210 in 2021, allowing provinces and territories to add the option of signing up for organ donation when filing taxes.

Ontario and Nunavut recently opted into the legislation.

"What it does is it makes people aware, and it allows the government to contact them with more information about organ donation in their province," Dr. Lori West, scientific director of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, told CTV's Your Morning on Monday. "Part of the reason we think that organ donation is not as optimal as it could be is that people don't learn about it, they don't hear about it, they don't think about it or talk about it."

Specific organs, like the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, small bowel and stomach can be donated after death in Canada, both for research and to people needing a transplant.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information says organ transplants decreased 14 per cent between 2019 and 2020, with the highest decrease in pancreases and lungs. Those needing liver transplants had the highest fatality rate on the waitlist, as of December 2020.

By allowing the government to add organ donation information and sign-up in tax filings, more people will be exposed to the need for donations.