Prince George, B.C. – There is a dire need for kidney transplants in British Columbia but the problem is, there are not enough kidneys being donated to fill that need.

Right now more than 350 people in this province are waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant operation, including 85 residents of Prince George.  The Kidney Foundation of Canada, B.C. and Yukon Branch, says one in ten people in Prince George is battling kidney disease.

March is Kidney Health month and the Kidney Foundation has released a report on what over 2500 British Columbians see as the challenges and solutions needed to address the urgent state of kidney transplantation and organ donor registration.  The report was compiled following  online polling, a provincial survey and community meetings in twelve centres, including Prince George.

The report outlined three of the top critical issues and recommendations for improvement  identified by British Columbians:

1) Confusion and difficulty around the process of registering to be an organ door topped the list.  Increased accessibility and returning to organ donor registration with driver’s license renewal are seen as keys to improving low organ donation rates.

2) Lack of awareness about the seriousness of kidney disease was a dominant theme. Respondents called for a public awareness and media campaign, mandatory education for family doctors and more high-profile public engagement opportunities including community gatherings.

3) Financial barriers such as travel costs related to transplant surgery and loss of income while recovering from surgery for both transplant recipients and living organ donors is another big concern.  Examination of current financial programs and how they can better support living kidney donors and kidney transplant recipients who live outside Vancouver is needed.

BC and Yukon Branch Executive Director Karen Philp says “We know that a kidney transplant cannot cure kidney disease, but it is a kidney patient’s best hope for a better quality of life.  Right now the demand for transplants far exceeds the supply and with British Columbians facing some of the longest wait times in Canada, this means far too many kidney patients will die waiting.”

Philp says the Kidney Foundation is committed to increasing organ donor registration and kidney transplants by 50% over the next five years. “Our research, together with the recommendations coming out of this report, represents an important first step for us in achieving this goal and it will inform where we go from here.”