Standing Committee on Health

Comité permanent de la santé

For immediate release

Ottawa, September 25, 2018 –

Bill Casey, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, presented the Committee’s nineteenth report today entitled Organ Donation in Canada. In presenting the report to the House, Mr. Casey highlighted the importance of raising awareness of organ donation and its role in saving the lives of Canadians. He also said that he would like “to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Health for their hard work on this study and hopes that this report opens up more discussions on organ donation frameworks in Canada.”

Mr. Casey looks forward to working with all parliamentarians to build on the recommendations in this report, including fellow committee members Mr. Len Webber and Mr. Ramez Ayoub, who have both dedicated their Private Members’ Business (C-316 and M-189, respectively), to this important topic. Both items are scheduled for debate in the House this week.

Drawing on witness testimony from meetings held on May 7 and May 9, 2018, the Committee’s report examines how Canada’s organ donation and transplantation system could be strengthened by:

• supporting the adoption of best practices in organ donation across all jurisdictions in Canada;

• providing public education and awareness to promote conversations among family members regarding organ donation;

• offering more opportunities for Canadians to register their decisions regarding organ donation; and

• providing sustained funding for research and data collection to ensure that organ transplantation results in improved health outcomes for Canadians.

The Committee believes that a stronger organ donation and transplantation system in Canada cannot be achieved without leadership from federal, provincial and territorial governments and a stronger role for Canadian Blood Services in the coordination of organ donation across the country. The Committee believes that the recommendations outlined in its report will help guide the way.