Canadian Blood Services is recognizing living organ donors, as Sept. 13 to 19 marks Living Donation Week.
Officials said it is a time to celebrate living kidney and liver donors, recipients, and the medical teams that make it all possible. It is also a time to raise awareness on the impact living donors can have across the country.
“Living donation is one of the most extraordinary gifts a person can give. Living donation offers transplant recipients shorter wait times, better health outcomes, and the chance to return to activities they enjoy,” said Dr. Tanya Petraszko, vice-president of medical affairs at Canadian Blood Services. “We hope Living Donation Week inspires Canadians to learn more about how living donation impacts recipients, living donors and those close to them.”
CANADIANS IN NEED
Officials said over 4,000 Canadians are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and unfortunately, about 250 will die each year while waiting.
Any healthy adult can become a living donor, with CBS saying ensuring a donor’s safety and long-term wellness is always top of mind throughout the process.
“Whether it’s donating a kidney or a portion of your liver, which is then transplanted into a recipient in need, living organ donors carry on living normal and healthy lives,” CBS said.
Canadian Blood Services works with organ and tissue donation and transplantation programs across the nation to develop leading practices and awareness campaigns. Additionally, CBS manages clinical programs that aid in interprovincial sharing of organs.
One of those is the Kidney Paired Donation program. Officials explained that sometimes, a willing donor is unable to donate directly to a loved one because they are not compatible matches. Through the program, donors and recipients can be matched with other compatible pairs across the country, which helps create chains of donations.
Officials said since 2009, the program has allowed donors the chance to help someone they know, even if they are not a match with that recipient. Over 100 kidney transplants were made possible through the program, according to CBS.
More information about living organ donations is available on the CBS website. Living donation programs are operated by provincial and territorial organ and tissue transplant programs, with more information available on that here.
Officials added that close to 90 living liver transplants and over 500 living kidney transplants were performed in Canada in 2025.
The Living Donation Week initiative was launched in 2020 by the University Health Network – Centre for Living Organ Donation.
