Kidneys are the body’s primary mechanism for blood filtration and waste removal. Kidney failure leaves individuals with two options, a kidney transplant or dialysis. Dialysis does filter the blood, but it does not fully replace kidney function. This causes wastes to gradually accumulate and leaves patients with numerous painful side effects. Therefore, kidney transplants are the only way to successfully return kidney function to normal.
This image shows a dialysis machine and is from Bryanking.net/dialysis
Unlike Canada, the United States and most of Europe has centralized national waitlists for kidney transplants, which take age and health into account. Kidney transplant waitlists in Canada are dependent on which province an individual is in, and within the province they are further divided by region.
The nationalization of transplant waitlists would prevent the unequal wait times we see between provinces in Canada. For example, British Columbians are forced to wait three times as long as people from Nova Scotia or Quebec. B.C. residents’ wait-time is roughly 2145 days, where as Nova Scotia residents’ is 765 days and the national average is 1258 days. The video below is a CTV news interview and it describes one individual’s life with kidney failure and Ontario’s transplant wait times.
This video is uploaded by LHSCCanada and is a CTV News interview
The Canadian government needs to reassess the way donated kidneys are distributed. In the United States, the government committee that oversees kidney transplants is taking initiatives to make better use of the countries donated organs. They have decided to push forward with distributing donated kidneys based on an individuals estimated age and health. This would give younger individuals healthier and younger kidneys. Despite criticism, this scheme has the ability to decrease the number of returning recipients to the waitlists. On the contrary, Canadians’ ability to receive a transplant depends on where an individual is and how many people are competing for an organ.
This image essentially shows what happens with a kidney transplant and is from Medline Plus/kidney transplantation
Canada is in dire need of updating its waitlist guidelines. From family experiences, I know the consequences of Canada’s regionally divided organ waitlists. Dialysis does provide a temporary solution removing and filtering blood, but it is not permanent. People’s lives become centered on their dialysis treatments, which occur 3 times a week. Individuals’ with kidney failure are forced to endure pain and sickness as toxins and wastes accumulate and lead to frequent hospital visits.
-Ryan Sidhu
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