AHS: Palliative partnerships restore sight for transplant patients
HOPE donor coordinators Scott Gordon, left, Marcey Kosman and Trudie Yeung discuss a patient case. Photo by Su-Ling Goh.
AHS-led initiative reduces wait times for corneal transplants
Story by Su-Ling Goh | Photos by Michael James & Katrine Deniset
More Albertans are accessing corneal transplants and seeing the world around them once again thanks to partnerships between palliative care facilities and Alberta Health Service’s Comprehensive Tissue Centre (CTC).
In 2023, at least 83 deceased people donated their eyes to the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Program (AOTDP). Of those, 26 came from palliative care facilities in Edmonton, including nine from Pilgrims Hospice Society’s Roozen Family Hospice Centre.
While only one to two per cent of people are eligible to donate organs after they die, most can donate tissues, including patients with cancer. Dr. Andreas Kramer, AOTDP Medical Director, encourages palliative care facilities to offer the option of tissue donation as part of end-of-life care.
“That’s somewhat unique compared to most hospital deaths, where patients in the process of dying often aren’t able to have those types of conversations themselves,” says Kramer. “It’s a way of having something positive come out of what is otherwise a sad situation.”
Read the full story on the AHS Website
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