We want to reduce waiting lists, improve quality of life and ultimately save lives. The Alberta strategy will be integrated into a national strategy on donation and transplantation once the National Strategy is ready. In December 1999, there were 99 Albertans waiting for a heart, lung or liver transplant. The greatest need was for lung transplants. Kidney transplant is the preferred treatment option for individuals suffering from end-stage renal failure.
Dialysis is the clinical means by which patients with renal failure are kept alive.
This report recommends a province wide link between tissue donations and potential recipients. The committee was chaired by Heather Forsyth, M.L.A. Calgary Fish Creek. A governing committee, supported by three advisory committees, reporting to the Minister of Health and Wellness, will oversee the implementation and management of a provincial organ and tissue donation and transplant system. The governing committee will develop a comprehensive accountability framework for monitoring, evaluating and reporting donation and transplant outcomes, and compliance with the standards and guidelines. New comprehensive legislation will be developed to serve as the legal foundation for donation and transplantation in Alberta, and replace the Human Tissue Gift Act and negate the need for Bill 206, the Human Tissue Donation Procedures Statutes Amendment Act, 1998.