NB launches ambitious Organ Donation Network

Although it's only a few months old, the New Brunswick Organ Donation Network has already set itself the monumental challenge of increasing the province's donor rate from 14 per million to 25 per million within the next 5 years. Its goal is to become Atlantic Canada's leader in organ and tissue donation.

"There are very significant waiting lists for various transplants," says Dr. Bill Goodine, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, one of several partners in the new venture. "Anything we can do to shorten those lists would be worth while."

More than 80 New Brunswick residents are currently waiting for a transplant. Last year there were only 66 donors in the province. "When we compare ourselves to other countries, we can see we've fallen behind," says Goodine. "It stands out that we are at 14.4 [donors] per million. We're really trying to find a New Brunswick solution, and this is the first step."

That first step includes finding ways to garner greater public support for organ donation. Overall, Canada's organ donor rate stands at 13.7 donors per million population. The world leader in organ donation is Spain, with 32 donors per million population.