HALIFAX – When Denice Klavano’s son Brad was in a fatal accident nine years ago, she was faced with tragedy and an important decision. However, there was never a doubt her son would be an organ donor.
“About three weeks before my son passed away, he had got his MSI card in the mail,” she recalled.
When she asked him whether he was going to sign on as an organ donor, he replied “absolutely.”
“He signs it and goes, ‘Mom, this is just a rental,'” Klavano said as she pointed to her chest.
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Klavano is now an organ donation advocate and encourages people to speak to their family members about their after-life wishes. She would also like to see it become easier for people to make their intentions known, which could include an online system of registering as donors.
“For ease and in today’s world, I think it makes a great deal of sense.”
Currently, the Nova Scotia registry is maintained by MSI and appears on the province’s health cards. Other provinces, including Ontario, have implemented an online system of signing up and experienced an increase in donors.
A spokeswoman from Trillium Gift of Life Network in Ontario said the province initiated their online system in 2011 when about 16 per cent of eligible donors were registered. That figure has since risen to 26 per cent.
Jessica Carver knows firsthand the importance of organ donation. The Halifax woman has cystic fibrosis and in 2012, her condition worsened to the point where she needed a double lung transplant.
“I had a feeding tube as well because I couldn’t maintain my weight, I was on oxygen 24/7, I had a wheelchair,” she said. “Now I can do pretty much anything. So it’s been a drastic change.”
She now visits schools and organizations to speak out about donation and encourage people to register. Carver feels an online registration program would streamline the system and improve rates.
“If you had the ability to make a few clicks online and register I think we’d see a big difference in the numbers.”
However, online registration is not on the province’s radar for the time being. Health and Wellness deputy minister Dr. Peter Vaughan said the province’s registration rates are already strong, at about 50 per cent.
“Most jurisdictions that are going down that road are going there because they are not seeing the uptake we have seen in Nova Scotia,” Vaughan said.
“We would have to look at what that evidence is, what the costs are, what the administrative costs are, what the maintenance costs are. These systems don’t come without any ongoing costs along with start-up costs.”
Nova Scotia ranks high nationally when it comes to tissue and organ donation rates.
According to a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Nova Scotia’s conversion rate of actual donors compared to eligible donors was 18 per cent between 2008 and 2012. That figure was second only to Quebec’s 21 per cent and compared to a national average of 16 per cent.
Legislation regarding human tissue and organ donation has also been passed and is expected to be proclaimed in the coming months. It would eliminate a family’s right to revoke organ donation for a patient if consent has already been given.
It’s the kind of legislation physicians support but also hope they don’t have to use so long as people sign up and make their intentions known.
“It’s really helpful in most cases to go to a family and say, ‘We know what your dad would have wanted. He indicated that on the registry so let’s talk about how we can respect his wishes,'” said Dr. Stephen Beed from the QEII Health Sciences Centre.
“They’re going through the worst tragedy you can imagine and it’s the only positive that we can offer to these families in the middle of their tragedy. It helps these families get through one of the worst things in their life. It frames a legacy for their loved one.”
Global News joins LiveOn.ca this year in honour of National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week. For 2015, the campaign is going country-wide in hopes of getting Canadians to register their decision over a 48-hour-period starting Monday, April 20.
To learn more about organ donation in Nova Scotia, visit Legacy of Life.
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