(Ottawa) – A significant new overview of the state of organ and tissue donation in Canada shows that while there has been progress over the past decade, there is still a lot of work to be done. The report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shares data related to organ donation from 2005 to 2014. Canadian Blood Services is diving more deeply into the CIHI data and is set to release an additional progress report in the near future. It will outline in more detail how the system is evolving including trends and outcomes.

Through remarkable advances in transplantation, organ donation saves and improves lives and is cost effective. However, Canada’s organ donation record is mediocre, with less than half the donation rates of leading countries. One-third of Canadians who need a transplant will never receive one. While Canada has seen modest improvements over the past decade, the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s recent report, Deceased Organ Donor Potential in Canada, reveals that there is a large and troubling gap between the number of people who could be organ donors and the number who actually donate