Nearly two thirds of potential organ donors gave the gift of life

TORONTO January 27, 2017 – Today Trillium Gift of Life Network released new provincial data on hospital donation performance. Ontario is the only province to make this data publicly available – a practice that has led to higher donation rates in the province.

Hospital donation performance is measured by two rates: routine notification and conversion. Routine notification rate measures the frequency at which Trillium Gift of Life Network is notified by a hospital when there is potential for organ and/or tissue donation. Without this critical first step, precious life-saving opportunities are lost. The average provincial routine notification rate over the first two quarters of 2016/17 fiscal year (April 1 – September 30, 2016) was 95 per cent.

In the second quarter (July 1 – September 30, 2016), nine out of the 70 hospitals achieved a 100 per cent routine notification rate:

• Georgian Bay General Hospital (Midland, Ont.)
• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, Ont.)
• Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (Clinton, Ont., St Mary’s, Ont., Seaforth, Ont., Stratford, Ont.)
• Kirkland and District Hospital (Kirkland Lake, Ont.)
• Leamington District Memorial Hospital (Leamington, Ont.)
• Northumberland Hills Hospital (Cobourg, Ont.)
• Pembroke Regional Hospital (Pembroke, Ont.)
• Sault Area Hospital (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.)
• University of Ottawa Heart Institute (Ottawa, Ont.)

The second measure, conversion rate, indicates the percentage of potential organ donors that became actual organ donors. Over the first two quarters of the 2016/17 fiscal year, the provincial conversion rate average was 60 per cent.

In the second quarter, 10 out of 56 hospitals achieved a 100 per cent conversion rate:

• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, Ont.)
• Cornwall Community Hospital (Cornwall, Ont.)
• Hamilton Health Sciences (Hamilton, Ont.)
• Kingston General Hospital (Kingston, Ont.)
• London Health Sciences Centre (London, Ont.)
• Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto, Ont.)
• Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (Barrie, Ont.)
• St. Joseph’s Healthcare (Hamilton, Ont.)
• St. Mary’s General Hospital (Kitchener, Ont.)
• University of Ottawa Heart Institute (Ottawa, Ont.)

To see the data by hospital and region, visit: www.giftoflife.on.ca/en/publicreporting.htm.

CONTACT:
Jennifer Long
Media Relations Coordinator
416-619-2327
c. 647-526-6941
jlong@giftoflife.on.ca

Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation for transplantation across Ontario and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.