Organ and tissue donation

Organ and tissue donation improves health and saves lives. You can help those in need.

On this page

• Donating organs and tissues
• What we did
• Call for members

Donating organs and tissues

Less than 25% of people living in Canada are registered donors, yet more are needed. Donating organs and tissue save and improve lives.

One organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Tissue and eye donors can improve the lives of up to 75 more. Quality of life and life expectancy are often better for people with severe chronic kidney disease if they have a kidney transplant than if they're treated with dialysis.

Depending on where you live, there are different ways to:

• indicate your intent to donate organs and tissues
• decide what organs and tissues you want to donate

Register to become a donor in your province or territory:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut (managed by Alberta)
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Health care providers will ask your family about donation before it happens, so it's important they know your wishes. If you decide to become an organ and tissue donor, tell your family and friends.

If you have questions about how donation affects your religious or spiritual practice, speak with your spiritual leader.

The need for organ and tissue donation

As our population ages, the need for organ and tissue donations keeps increasing. There are more than 2,200 solid organ transplants each year. Despite improvements in the number of organ donations since 2012, the number of people in need of a transplant has also increased. On average, 250 people on the waiting list die while waiting for an organ each year.

While most people living in Canada consent to donate after they die, you can also donate organs while you're still alive. Living donors who are the age of majority and in good health can donate:

• a kidney
• part of the liver
• a lobe of the lung

Talk to your loved ones about organs and tissue donation, and encourage others to register to save more lives.

What we did

From 2018 to 2024, Health Canada and our partners led and successfully completed the Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative, with implementation of the Pan-Canadian Governance Body for Organ Donation and Transplantation. This new initiative will continue to make improvements to system performance for better patient outcomes.

Learn more about:

Pan-Canadian Governance for Organ Donation and Transplantation

Call for members

Health Canada is seeking nominations for members to participate in the Patient Advocate Advisory Committee (PAAC). The PAAC will bring together patients, donors, family representatives and patient organisations in order to discuss matters of patient interest within the pan-Canadian Organ Donation and Transplantation system. The goal of PAAC is to mutually inform and deepen members' perspectives as well as make impactful recommendations, which may include policy changes, system improvements, and patient care strategies aimed at enhancing the overall patient journey and outcomes.

Related links

• Transplant Québec
• Canadian Blood Services
• Canadian Society for Transplantation
• Canadian Institute for Health Information
• Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program

For industry and professionals

• Guidance Document for Cell, Tissue and Organ Establishments
• Cells, Tissues, and Organs for Transplantation and Assisted Human Reproduction
• COVID-19: Update on organ donation and transplantation services (Canadian Blood Services)