Record number of deceased Albertans donated organs in 2024

A record number of Albertans donated their organs and tissues after they died last year, according to the province’s health authority.

Give Life Alberta, Alberta’s organ and tissue donation program, reported 317 deceased organ and/or tissue donors in 2024.

The province says the generosity of these individuals and their loved ones led to 423 organs being transplanted last year.

Hundreds of lives were saved as a result.

Give Life Alberta says 2024 was the third consecutive year of increased deceased donation rates in the province; there were 273 donors in 2023, and 248 donors in 2022.

Calgarian Mike Cahill got a life-saving kidney transplant from a deceased donor last year.

The 39-year-old suffered from kidney disease and had spent more than three years on at-home and in-clinic dialysis.

“My life was on hold. It felt like having a weight on every limb. It was hard to work up the willpower to go do anything,” Cahill said.

He is now back to work as a construction engineer.

Cahill says he often thinks about his donor, and the sacrifice they made.

“They had all their life ahead of them, as well. I’m eternally grateful to their family. It definitely was a life-changing decision,” he said.

A single organ donor can save as many as eight lives, according to AHS. A tissue donor can dramatically improve, or sometimes save, up to 75 lives.

AHS says there is a constant need for organ transplants across the country. In Alberta, more than 500 people are waiting for life-saving transplants.

“Donation and transplantation makes a huge difference for patients in need of organs or tissues. It can be life-saving. It can have a huge impact on patients’ quality of life,” explained Dr. Andreas Kramer, medical director of Give Life Alberta. “Donation can also provide families with some comfort during a time of great loss. The fact that we’re able to provide that option for more families is good news.”

The province is touting several policy changes and initiatives that it says are to thank for increased deceased organ donation in recent years.

These include the Specialist in End-of-Life Care, Neuroprognostication, and Donation (SEND) program, which launched in 2021 and involves specialized intensive care physicians working closely with healthcare teams to ensure high-quality end-of-life care, which can include identifying and caring for potential organ donors; Bill 205 — Mandatory Referral legislation which directs hospitals to refer all dying patients who could be eligible to donate organs or tissues to a donation program; and the newly formed and rebranded Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Program (AOTDP).

Albertans can register their intent to donate online at givelifealberta.ca, register at a motor vehicle registry office, and tell their loved ones about their donation decision.