Organ donation a fine idea — in theory: poll
Last Updated: Friday, August 13, 2010 | 3:40 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
External Links
- Views on organ and tissue donation and transplantation, Ipsos Reid (.pdf)
- International Congress of the Transplantation Society
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
Presumed consent for organ donation is strongly opposed by 45 per cent of Canadians, a poll suggests. (CBC)Canada's relatively low rate of organ donation doesn't seem to be due to a lack of public support for the idea, a poll suggests.
Next week's International Transplant Society Congress in Vancouver plans to include a panel discussion on improving blood donation and transplantation rates.
Canadians are strong supporters of both organ and tissue donation, with 95 per cent of respondents approving, according to a poll released Friday by Canadian Blood Services.
But in 2005, Canada's rate of organ donation for deceased donors was 12.8 per million, behind that of other countries such as Spain (35.1 per million) and the U.S. (21.5 per million).
Half of Canadians polled said they have decided to donate their organs at the time of death, 42 per cent are undecided and seven per cent have decided not to.
Two-thirds of respondents, 68 per cent, were unable to provide a response about what organization is responsible for organ and tissue donations in each province.
Presumed consent opposed by many
When asked, those surveyed listed improving access to organs as fourth out of seven health-care priorities, after increasing the number of doctors, improving access to cancer care, and improving access to X-rays, MRIs and other diagnostic equipment.
Canadians differed on potential solutions. Of those polled, 88 per cent said they believed the wishes of a deceased person who has signed a donor card or registered their intent should be followed, regardless of the wishes of next of kin.
Fewer, 54 per cent, said they favoured "presumed consent," in which organs and tissues are considered public good unless one opts out, and 45 per cent were strongly opposed to such a system.
In 2008, provincial and territorial health ministers expanded the mandate of Canadian Blood Services to organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
Quebec has its own provincial agency.
In 2008, there were more than 2,000 organ transplants performed in Canada, while at the same time more than 4,300 Canadians remained on a wait list for transplantation. During that period, 215 died without receiving a transplant that might have saved their lives.
The blood agency commissioned the poll by Ipsos Reid. The national survey of 1,500 Canadian adults was conducted by telephone between March 24 and March 30.
The margin of error for the national survey was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Tories move to curb 'bogus' refugees
- The Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, CBC News has learned. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Two NDP MPs broke party ranks to vote with the government in the final House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
Latest Health News Headlines
- Most off-reserve aboriginal kids in excellent health
- Most First Nations and Métis children living off reserve reported excellent or very good health but factors like poor housing conditions and access to medical care seem to make a difference, a report suggests. more »
- Immigrant babies often wrongly deemed underweight
- Some babies born to immigrant parents are incorrectly classified as underweight — which could lead to unnecessary tests — when they're actually within the normal range for their ethnic groups, Canadian doctors warn. more »
- Half of Canadians report being bullied as youth
- Half of Canadian adults polled say they were bullied as children or teenagers — and 62 per cent of those bullied say having an adult mentor would have helped them cope. more »
- Botox injected by unlicensed practitioners
- Some Vancouver-area medical spas are ignoring Health Canada regulations that Botox be prescribed and injected by a physician, a CBC News investigation has revealed. more »
FEATURED HEALTH
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- Barefoot girl's icy trek not blamed on babysitter
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Canadian housing market cools in January
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Russians' abusive plane tirade to cost them $19K

