Manitoba moves organ donation consent online

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This article was published 22/04/2019 (2075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba is bidding farewell to organ donation cards, pivoting to an online-only system for registering intent to donate organs or tissues.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Cameron Friesen encouraged those who already have donor cards to re-register in the province’s online database (signupforlife.ca).

He urged Manitobans to also discuss the move with their families — who ultimately have the final say when it comes to whether to donate deceased loved ones’ remains.

“The challenge with the former system, of course, is you could have felt strongly about taking that step, but there was no way to capture that decision that you had made. When I think back to signing my own card, I don’t believe I shared that decision with anyone,” Friesen said.

“Now that decision is captured (online). It is stored and it is located in such a way that health professionals can access that decision to donate.”

Dr. Faisal Siddiqui, who works with the Transplant Manitoba team, said medical staff always discuss with families whether they want to donate their relatives’ remains for medical research or for others in need. In his experience, not everyone is aware of their family members’ donation preferences.

“When families know what your wishes are, they honour them… when they don’t know, that’s when they may struggle a little bit more. And so it’s really important to make sure that they are aware of your wishes,” Siddiqui said.

“The paper cards that did exist, we still will share that information with families. We really want people to go online so we don’t have to worry about a little piece of paper that may or may not be with you when you come to a hospital.”

Dean Omeniuk, a two-time heart transplant recipient, lauded the move to an online donor registry and encouraged those who haven’t done so already to sign up, a process that takes about two minutes.

“Organ donation is the greatest gift one person can give to another,” Omeniuk said.

About 37,000 Manitobans have registered to be organ donors, with a record number of about 11,000 signing up last year in the wake of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

Humboldt hockey player Logan Boulet signed up to be a donor about five weeks before he and 15 others died in the accident. His organs were donated to six people, helping save lives and setting off what’s been called “the Logan Boulet effect” across the country, with an onslaught of Canadians signing up to donate.

Earlier this month, Nova Scotia became the first place in North America to propose a new donation model: a presumed consent system where people would automatically donate their healthy organs and tissues when they die. Those who don’t want to donate could opt out.

Advocates believe this presumed consent model would boost donation numbers. Spain adopted such a framework in 1979, and has consistently had some of the highest organ donation rates in the world.

Siddiqui said a similar policy shift in Manitoba would have to have significant public support.

“And if that’s where our community wants to go, then as a member of Transplant Manitoba, I know that we’ll make that happen. But I really think it’s important that we as a community make that decision, not any one person or any one government,” he said.

When asked about Nova Scotia’s move to an opt-out system, Friesen emphasized the provincial government isn’t considering such a move, but hinted more change may be on the way.

“I think that the path forward lies first in education (about organ and tissue donation). I know that there are plans underway to see how we can even make more of an impact.”

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu