Out of 170 Ontario communities, Sudbury has the sixth highest organ donor registration rate at 56 per cent, to the end of September 2019 according to the latest organ donation stats from the Trillium Gift of Life Network. The provincial average is 34 per cent.
North Bay has the highest donor registration rate at 58 per cent. It had 432 donations in 2019. This community has 13 active registration drives.
Espanola sits second, one point back. Nipissing South ranks fifth and Parry Sound seventh.
According to beadonor.ca of the more than 47,000 health cardholders in the city, over 27,000 are registered donors.
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“North Bay has been enthusiastically supporting organ and tissue donation awareness for many years,” said Ronnie Gavsie, President and CEO of Trillium Gift of Life Network. “We are thrilled to have strong support in the northern regions of Ontario and grateful for all those who have registered to be donors and continue to advocate to save lives through transplantation. Together we are changing the culture of donation in Ontario.”
Provincially, in 2019, Ontario set new records for the most organs donated and transplanted in a single year.
There were 1,386 organ transplants and 684 deceased and living organ donors, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year.
Sign up to be a donor here.
Trillium Gift of Life Network achieved record-breaking results across its internationally-renowned organ and tissue donation and transplant system due to a combination of expanded protocols, innovative treatments, and effective leading practices.
"More Ontarians than ever before gave and received the gift of life last year thanks to the collaboration among our forward-thinking hospital partners, dedicated stakeholder groups and hard-working staff," said Gavsie. "These achievements inspire us to do more. We will continue to work with fervor toward a day when no Ontarian dies on the waitlist due to a lack of an organ or tissue."
Higher transplant numbers are partly attributable to technological and medical advancements that allow for the transplantation of organs from donors who historically would have been excluded due to prior medical conditions. These donors accounted for 21 per cent of all organ transplants in 2019.
Trillium Gift of Life Network consistently explores new ways to expand donation opportunities. In 2016, organ donation was integrated as part of quality end-of-life care for individuals receiving the provision of medical assistance in dying (MAID).
