Interprovincial organ sharing programs

Canadian Blood Services works hand-in-hand with its provincial partners in healthcare to facilitate operational programs that support the interprovincial sharing of organs. These programs are facilitated through the Canadian Transplant Registry (CTR), a national web-based computer program used for linking those in need of transplant with potential organ donors. The Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) program looks for compatible transplants created through chains of paired donation from otherwise incompatible pairs. The Highly Sensitized Patient (HSP) program improves chances of a kidney transplant for hard to match patients. The National Organ Waitlist (NOW) is a real-time data source for non-renal patients throughout Canada. The Interprovincial Organ Sharing of Hearts for High-Status Recipients project (referred to as the “IPOS Heart project”) is guided by the need to improve the allocation of a very rare and precious gift. The project’s focus is to match available hearts to the most medically urgent, and difficult to match heart waitlist patients.