A second chance at life: organ donation in Sask.

Without the transplant, Angus guesses he would have lived another three to five years. On June 4, 2006, he was the first successful carcinoid cancer liver transplant performed out of Edmonton.

The topic of transplants–particularly liver transplants—has been top of mind for many Canadians after a story went national out of Kingston, Ontario last month. Michael Wagner’s adopted twin girls required liver transplants, but Wagner could only give a portion of his liver to one of the girls. That spurred a nation-wide search to find a donor for the other twin.

The father did not have to choose which twin received the liver; that decision was up to the doctor. The three-year-old girl is recovering from the surgery but as of the time this story was published, her sister was still waiting for a suitable donor.

It’s difficult to determine if anyone from Saskatchewan had intentions of donating to the girl from Ontario according to Dr. Gavin Beck, a transplant doctor with the Saskatoon Health Region. Kidney transplants are performed in Regina and Saskatoon, but Saskatchewan patients requiring any other solid organ transplant are usually referred to Edmonton.

If someone wants to donate their kidney to a specific person, but they aren’t a match, Beck said they can remain on a national donor registry. However, that type of registry doesn’t exist for live liver donations.

More than 400 people from around the world signed up to be a potential donor for the Ontario girl. Both Beck and Angus urge people who are not a match for one person to consider donating to someone else in need of an organ.

“There has been an increased activity of Saskatchewan residents contacting the transplant office, (but) specifically related to liver transplantation, I don’t have the answer to that,” Beck said. He attributes the heightened interest to both awareness campaigns and possibly the story out of Ontario.

But the need for organs still far outweighs the amount available. There are currently 225 Saskatchewan residents waiting to receive an organ transplant. Ten of them are waiting for a liver.

How liver transplants work

Donating a liver starts with determining blood type, Beck said. If the blood type is a match, doctors then look at the anatomy of the liver. Some transplants, like in Angus’ case, require an entirely new liver.

Live donors can give up to 60 per cent of their liver because the organ regenerates. The entire liver is always removed from the body and replaced by the donated portion, which can eventually grow back to full size.
“The liver is an amazing organ,” Beck said.

Donating: more than a sticker on a card

To be a donor in Saskatchewan, people are encouraged to sign a donor card and place a sticker on their health card. While the sticker shows a person’s intent, Beck said it won’t matter unless you’ve told your family that you want to donate.
“Even though you may have made your intentions known with your donor card, at the end of the day it is up to your family and next of kin to allow you to proceed with your wishes to be a donor,” he said.

That means even if you tell family members that you want to be a donor, they could trump the decision if they don’t support organ donation.

Angus pointed out that some countries have an “opt-out” program for organ donation, where people are assumed to be a donor unless they choose not to be. It poses some ethical issues, Beck pointed out, but he said countries that have implemented the opt-out program have a higher rate of deceased organ donation than Canada.

Although donors do not require life-long anti-rejection medication like recipients, Beck admits there are always risks for being a living donor. But people like Angus hope the public can see past that.

“It’s a tough decision to make but thank god there are some people that are willing to do that,” he said, adding that deceased organ donations are just as important.

“I feel so very fortunate and it’s because some family, in a time of very high stress, made that conscious decision to allow their loved ones’ organs to be used. Six of us are alive today because of that.”

After the transplant

A week after his transplant, Angus was out of the hospital and back home within a month. Now that the surgery was over, he started thinking about the stranger who had given him the gift of life.

Recipients are never told who their donors are but they’re encouraged to write letters to their donor’s family. Angus wrote a letter, even though he had never known a recipient who got a response.

Two years later, he received a letter back.

“That is very powerful. I was very glad to get it; it really tied things together,” he said. Angus learned about his donor: a young man who died in a fatal car crash in Western Canada.

Because of that man and his family, Angus said he’s been able to travel the world, watch his five grandchildren grow up and fully enjoy his retirement. Nearly nine years later, he reflects on that day in his garage with extreme gratitude.

“When you think of the number of people that, because of a shortage of donors, aren’t able to receive a new organ, there’s always kind of that ‘why am I the lucky one?’ It’s very hard to explain what the feeling is; it’s just like you’ve been given a second chance at life.”

Saskatchewan Transplants By the Number

2 people in Saskatchewan had a liver transplant in 2014
7 Saskatchewan residents donated an organ in 2013 (both live and deceased)
28 people in Saskatchewan have received a liver transplant since 2008
225 people in Saskatchewan are currently on a waiting list for a transplant
600 organ recipients are living in Saskatchewan as of the end of 2014
In 2012, 16 per cent of liver transplants in Canada involved a living donor

* Stats provided by Saskatoon Health Region and Saskatchewan Health Ministry

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by Bre McAdam

A second chance at life: organ donation in Sask.

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