Sask. organ donation outlook more optimistic, says ICU doctor who flagged problems
Dr. Stephen Beed says he's seeing positive change in how Sask. healthcare handles organ donation
An ICU specialist who previously spoke out about problems with the way organ donations were handled in the Saskatoon health care system said he is starting to see positive changes at the bedside.
Dr. Stephen Beed, who works as a critical care locum in Saskatoon, told CBC in late 2017 that hospitals were missing opportunities to take organs from willing donors.
He said he had seen situations where a donation did not take place because surgeries had to be rescheduled, or because families were never offered the chance to approve a donation.
On Tuesday, Beed said he has seen a change in the past year in health care workers "at the bedside."
"I think it's fair to say that thinking about the potential donor is happening more often and a larger percentage of the health care team seem to be interested in it and getting informed about it," he said.
Success breeds success.- Critical care doctor Stephen Beed
In 2015, Saskatchewan had the lowest organ donation rate of all the provinces.
Since Beed raised concerns, the provincial government has made changes in an effort to increase that number.
Change is underway
In 2018 the province created one half-time position to be shared between three "donor physicians," whose role is to educate healthcare workers and champion organ donation. The province has also announced it will start a formal organ donation registry.
Beed said the death of Humboldt Bronco Logan Boulet helped bring about change by kick-starting serious discussions about organ donation in the health care community.
Boulet, a young hockey player killed in the Humboldt Broncos team bus crash in 2018, has been credited for encouraging more people to indicate they want to be donors. Six people benefited from his organs and nearly 100,000 Canadians signed up to become organ donors after learning he had signed his own card.
Sask. numbers improve after 2015 low-point
Organ donation rates in Saskatchewan have increased since 2015. According to Canadian Blood Services, the rate of deceased donors per million people was 8.8 in 2015, 12.2 in 2016, and 14.6 in 2017. The Ministry of Health in Saskatchewan said the rate for 2018 was 13.7.
Beed is a medical advisor for the organ donation program in Nova Scotia, which has been running for 13 years.
He said an increase in donations requires a culture change, something he believes he is seeing in Saskatoon.
"It's not something that should be an afterthought. It should just be a regular part of good end-of-life care but that requires a committed and informed and educated health-care team," Beed said.
"And they didn't have that before. And that's what they're starting to get now."
He said the more successful donations there are in Saskatchewan, the more it will become normalized in the healthcare community.
"Success breeds success," Beed said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
