This first release of data and reporting from the Pan-Canadian Organ Donation and Transplantation (ODT) Data and Performance Reporting System Project, funded by Health Canada and co-led by CIHI and Canada Health Infoway, features national and provincial volumes for deceased donation, living donation and transplantation, as well as infographics and 13 priority indicators of health system performance related to ODT.
ODT at a glance
Summary volumes of organ donation and transplantation activity in Canada, 2022 | ||||
Transplants | Donors | Patients waiting | ||
2,916 Organ transplants | 484 Living | 827 Deceased | 3,777 Active or on hold as of December 31 | 701 Died or withdrawn |
Right-click on a chart to export it as an image or PDF. Download an accessible version of the ODT at a glance data from the Additional material section below.
Notes
NDD: Neurologic determination of death; DCD: Donation after circulatory death.
All transplant surgeries includes islets as well as solid organs. Multi-organ transplants (e.g., heart–lung) count once toward each kind of organ transplanted and once toward the All transplant surgeries category. Bilateral transplants are counted as 1 surgery.
Deceased donors may donate more than one organ.
Patients waiting for multi-organ transplants (e.g., heart–lung) count once toward each kind of organ transplanted and once toward the All patients category. Active and on hold status is as recorded on December 31 of each year. Deaths and withdrawals is summed over the calendar year.
Sources
Canadian Organ Replacement Register and Hospital Morbidity Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
ODT indicators
The 13 ODT system performance indicators that have been identified as priority information needs by stakeholders provide comparable and actionable information at a pan-Canadian and provincial/territorial level. These indicators are included in CIHI’s Indicator library.
Deceased donors
ODT infographics
Explore these visualizations on selected ODT topics:
- Where organ transplants happen in Canada
- Demand for organ donation in Canada continues to exceed availability
- 2022 donation rates for Canada and selected countries
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Right-click on the infographic to save it as an image.
Where organ transplants happen in Canada
| City | Province | Types of organ transplants performed |
|---|---|---|
| Halifax | N.S. | Kidney, liver, heart, pediatric |
| Québec | Que. | Kidney, heart, pediatric |
| Sherbrooke | Que. | Kidney |
| Montréal | Que. | Kidney, lung, liver, heart, pancreas, islets, pediatric |
| Ottawa | Ont. | Kidney, heart, pediatric |
| Kingston | Ont. | Kidney |
| Toronto | Ont. | Kidney, lung, liver, heart, pancreas, islets, intestine, pediatric |
| Hamilton | Ont. | Kidney |
| London | Ont. | Kidney, liver, heart, pancreas, pediatric |
| Winnipeg | Man. | Kidney, pediatric |
| Saskatoon | Sask. | Kidney |
| Calgary | Alta. | Kidney, pediatric |
| Edmonton | Alta. | Kidney, lung, liver, heart, pancreas, islets, intestine, pediatric |
| Vancouver | B.C. | Kidney, lung, liver, heart, pancreas, pediatric |
Note
There are no transplant centres in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Sources
Canadian Organ Replacement Register, 2022; and Hospital Morbidity Database, 2021–2022 and 2022–2023, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Copyright 2024 Canadian Institute for Health Information
- Canadians often need to travel or relocate, even across provinces/territories, when waiting to receive an organ transplant.
- Depending on the organ, a patient may need to be at the hospital within hours when a matched organ becomes available.
- Transplant centres are mostly concentrated in large urban areas and require specialized teams and resources for different organs. Lung, intestine, multi-organ, pediatric and other complex transplants are done only at a few hospitals in Canada.
For a list of transplant centres, consult the CORR directory (XLSX).
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Demand for organ donation in Canada continues to exceed availability
But the gap between the wait-list and transplants performed is improving
Text version:
- The number of Canadians on the wait-list decreased from 4,588 people in 2013 to 3,777 people in 2022.
- The number of transplants performed in Canada increased from 2,331 in 2013 to 2,916 in 2022.
- In 2020, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in the number of patients who received a transplant.
- The number of patients who died or were withdrawn remains steady, averaging around 700 people yearly.
| Year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients on the wait-list, December 31 | 4,588 | 4,573 | 4,660 | 4,541 | 4,333 | 4,351 | 4,419 | 4,187 | 4,043 | 3,777 |
| Number of transplants performed | 2,331 | 2,437 | 2,606 | 2,874 | 2,967 | 2,831 | 3,059 | 2,614 | 2,766 | 2,916 |
| Number of patients who died or were withdrawn from the wait-list | 744 | 663 | 683 | 665 | 665 | 661 | 753 | 757 | 657 | 701 |
Sources
Canadian Organ Replacement Register, 2013 to 2022, and Hospital Morbidity Database, 2012–2013 to 2022–2023, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Copyright 2024 Canadian Institute for Health Information
- As of December 31, 2022, 3,777 Canadians were either active or on hold on the wait-list for a vital organ, while 2,916 transplants were performed in 2022.
- Depending on the organ, patients can stay on the wait-list for years before a matched organ becomes available.
- In 2022, 431 patients were withdrawn from the wait-list and 270 patients died. These numbers have remained fairly steady over the last decade.
Learn more about organ donation, transplants and the wait-list using ODT at a glance and CIHI’s Indicator library.
Right-click on the infographic to save it as an image.
Canada ranks 13th in the world for deceased donor rates and 11th for living donor rates
2022 donation rates for Canada and selected countries
Utilized deceased organ donors, rate per million population (PMP)
| Country | International rank | Rate per million population |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1st | 41.7 |
| United States of America | 2nd | 39.1 |
| Canada | 13th | 21.4 |
| United Kingdom | 18th | 19.6 |
| Australia | 22nd | 16.6 |
Living organ donors, rate per million population (PMP)
| Country | International rank | Rate per million population |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 1st | 56.2 |
| Republic of Korea | 2nd | 47.6 |
| United States of America | 8th | 19.3 |
| Canada | 11th | 15.0 |
| United Kingdom | 18th | 12.9 |
| Australia | 28th | 8.7 |
| Spain | 33rd | 7.6 |
Sources
Canadian Organ Replacement Register, 2022, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation, 2022.
Copyright 2024 Canadian Institute for Health Information
Canada has work to do if we are to keep up with world leaders in organ donation.
- Organ donation rates are affected by many factors, such as
- Organ donation and transplantation practices and legislation
- Health system resourcing and prioritization of donation and transplantation activity
- Health care professional training in donation and transplantation
- Public trust in the donation and transplantation system
- Compared with other similarly resourced countries such as Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, Canada ranks in the middle of the pack for donation and transplantation rates.
- Canada’s deceased donor rate is almost half of the rate for Spain, the world leader in deceased donation.
- Canada’s living donation rate is nearly 25% lower than the U.S. rate.
- With continued investment in donation activities such as mandatory referrals and donation physicians, Canada has improved donation rates to meet national and local system needs but must continue these efforts to become a world leader in this important field.
Learn more about international comparators at the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation website
Additional material
Download the data
Download an accessible version of the ODT at a glance data.
Related resources
- Pan-Canadian ODT Data and Performance Reporting System Project
- Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR)
- Organ donation, transplantation and dialysis topic page
- Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative (Health Canada)
- Canada Health Infoway
- Canadian Critical Care Society
- Canadian Society of Transplantation
- Organ and tissue donation and transplantation (Canadian Blood Services)
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