A new registry will make it easier for Canadians with end-stage kidney disease to find a willing kidney donor, Canadian Blood Services said Thursday.

The Living Donor Paired Exchange Registry is designed to match healthy Canadians who wish to donate a kidney with those needing a transplant.

Currently, it may be difficult for a friend or relative who wishes to donate a kidney but is unable to because of incompatible blood or tissue types to donate their organ to someone else.

When a match is found, the new registry will facilitate a swap between two sets of kidney donors and recipients in "paired exchanges."

Now, potential donors may sign up with the registry and be matched to someone else in the country. The initial intended recipient would receive a kidney from another donor on the registry who is compatible.

"The launch of this new registry is a great achievement for our organization and demonstrates the importance we are placing on our new mandate, which includes registries that will co-ordinate organ and tissue donations across Canada," said Dr. Graham Sher, chief executive officer of Canadian Blood Services in Ottawa.

Growing need

The more pairs that register, the greater the chances of finding compatible kidney matches, the group said. As of Thursday, it included 23 pairs, and the agency hopes to have 120 to 150 pairs a year.

The need for kidney donors is on the rise in Canada.

There are about 35,000 Canadians who suffer from kidney disease. and 3,000 people in this country are on waiting lists for a kidney transplant, according to the Canadian Organ Replacement Register.

The first "domino surgery" occurred in late 2008 at the Ottawa Hospital, when Ottawa resident Gene Borys intended to donate a kidney to his wife, Kelly Shannon.

She was not a compatible match, but an anonymous live kidney donor set off a chain reaction that saved several lives.

Before now, individual hospitals did paired exchanges within a limited area, but the registry expands the list nationwide.

The blood agency forecasts that the paired exchange registry for living donors will increase donations by 20 per cent or more.

Pilot transplant programs through the registry are being conducted in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, with other provinces to be added shortly.