Automatic organ and tissue donation set to be debated in N.B.

The New Brunswick Legislature is expected to debate Thursday a proposed switch to a "deemed consent" system for organ and tissue donation.

Under the proposed changes, introduced Wednesday by the Official Opposition and given first reading, all adults, who are not exempt, will be considered for organ and tissue donation — unless they opt out.

The Act to Amend the Human Tissue Gift Act could increase donations and "significantly diminish" wait times, said Jean-Claude D'Amours, the Liberal health critic and MLA for Edmundston-Madawaska Centre.

"We have to make sure we find ways to make sure people in our province can have access to organ donations and tissue donations in order to prolong their life," he told the legislature.

As it stands, New Brunswickers can give their consent for organ and tissue donation when they apply for or renew their medicare card, by checking the appropriate box.

D'Amours contends most New Brunswickers "are favourable" to the opt-out model.

Could become 2nd jurisdiction in Canada to switch

Nova Scotia is currently the only jurisdiction in Canada that has adopted a presumed consent model. The law change was passed in April 2019, and took effect in January 2021, once supports were put in place to handle the anticipated increase in donations.

It's not the first time the idea has been discussed in New Brunswick. Four years ago, then-health minister Ted Flemming said it was "well worth considering," and asked Department of Health staff to review Nova Scotia's bill.

In 2021, the PC majority voted to send a Liberal bill to a law amendments committee for further study. The president of the New Brunswick Medical Society and chief executive officer of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick had issued a joint statement at the time, urging all political parties to support the switch.

"We think that this will allow New Brunswick to truly show leadership," D'Amours said Wednesday.

Waits long, stressful

Fifty-nine New Brunswickers are currently on the wait-list for transplants, according to the Liberals. The stress and anxiety they and their families endure while waiting for a positive match is "extraordinary," said D'Amours.

"We have an opportunity to provide hope back to these families and for every person on the list, now and in the future. We urge the government to move forward with our amendments," he said in a statement.

I could have been living my life instead of counting the days.- Christian Carrier, double lung transplant recipient

Christian Carrier, who received a double lung transplant five years ago, urged the parties to come together to move the legislation forward, and give wait-list patients back days, months or even years.

"If this legislation could have reduced my wait from [three] years down to months, I could have been living my life instead of counting the days," Carrier said in a statement issued by the Liberals.

"Receiving my lung donation allowed me to breathe easier in more [ways] than one. It meant I could start living my life instead of watching it pass me by."

Cost-efficient for taxpayers

Bill Gandy, a Saint John resident who's on dialysis while awaiting a transplant, contends the switch could also save taxpayers money.

The costs are "exorbitant" while people are waiting for a transplant, he said. Dialysis, for example, can cost upwards of $100,000 a year per patient, according to Gandy.

"This is the type of health-care advancements we need more of: recipients get their lives back and the donors' legacy lives on — it's a no-brainer," he said.

The proposed amendments would allow for the creation of a registry to record consents or refusals under the act. 

New Brunswickers would register a decision to consent to donation of all or some organs and tissues, known as express consent, or opt out of donation.

Those who choose not to register a decision will still be considered a potential donor, with a few exceptions. This is referred to as deemed consent.