>> Steve: Ontario hospitals have among the best organ transplantation programs in the
world.
And yet there are many fewer procedures being done than could be done.
France Gélinas, the NDP MPP for nickel belt and that party's health critic would like to
change that and she has some idea's how that could happen.
She joins us know from Sudbury, Ontario for more Good to see you again, France,
how are you?
>> France: Very good, very good.
Nice to see you also.
>> Steve: Happy you could make some time for us.
How many people are waiting for an organ transplant in our province right now?
>> France: Well, because of the pandemic we didn't add anybody to the wait list.
So the wait list is about 1,650 people.
But now that procedures have grown again the wait list grows each and every day.
Before the pandemic the wait list was about 3,600.
So every day more people are being added to the list.
>> Steve: Do you have any idea what percentage of them will actually get the transplant they
need and what percentage will die waiting?
>> France: Unfortunately, the stats are not really good about every day and a half, somebody
on the wait list will die because no organs were available to save them.
And depending on the type of organs that you need, heart and lungs are harder to come by than
kidneys or cataracts, et cetera.
So the -- depending on what you need, the chances of survival vary.
But every day there are 90% of the people of Ontario say that they want to be an organ donor.
Every day we have missed opportunities to save lives.
>> Steve: 90% say they're prepared to be organ donors but what percentage of people
actually register to enable that to happen?
>> France: 36% of Ontarians are registered as organ donors.
It varies a bit by area.
And it varies a whole lot by age group.
But at the end of the day, 90% say, if you do a survey, 90% of the people will tell you that
they want to be an organ donor.
They understand how important this is.
Yet only 36% take the time to go through the registration process.
And this is what we're trying to change.
>> Steve: Okay.
Well, fill in the blanks, if you would.
What would you like to see changed in the way things proceed?
>> France: So you are absolutely right.
Ontario has one of the best organ transplant programs in Canada.
We have people from other provinces who come to Ontario for their organ transplant
because we are a top notch from community hospitals who have support, to talk to the family
of a dying person.
To the transportations with ORNGE ambulance to bring it to most of the transplants are done
in Southern Ontario, Toronto, Hamilton, London, et cetera.
To the actual transplant.
To the post transplant care.
We are top notch.
Where we fall flat is the number of people who actually sign.
So what we're proposing is to change this to an assume consent.
So that the day that you turn 18, we will assume that you want to be an organ donor unless you
specifically say that you do not.
When I first introduced that bill, that was back in 2013, I got a ton of push back.
People didn't agree with that.
But I took the time to listen to them, to meet with them and make changes to the bill so that they
could feel comfortable that their rights, their wishes were going to be respected.
So I made it really, really, really symptom opt out.
You tell a friend that, you send an e-mail.
You send a text.
You can temperature your family.
You can tell your doctor.
There are many, many ways to opt out that are really easy.
Plus, at the time of death, the next of kin gets to confirm that they wanted their organs do be
harvested for organ donation.
So now we have introduced the bill.
About three weeks ago now.
There was zero push back.
The people that used to push back say, "I'm happy you made the changes."
And we are good to go.
It's very rare that we will put a piece of legislation forward and that everybody is happy with
it or is able to tolerate it.
But we finally reached that point with organ donation.
That we have the right language in the bill to protect those who don't want to be organ donors.
But to make it easier for everybody else to be an organ donor so that we don't, every
day and a half, lose somebody else on the wait list for organ donation.
>> Steve: If we went to presume concept, okay.
You were saying about 36% of people right now sign up and are prepared to donate organs after
their death.
What number do you think you could reach in terms of people being prepared to donate organs
if you went to assume consent?
>> France: I think we're going to even above 90%.
Nova Scotia just did it.
So I must say that I looked at their bill really closely to make sure that I had the
provision that they have in their bill would be in the Ontario bill also.
And they -- it has changed their organ donation program dramatically.
If you look at other areas of the world, Israel or other country that is have assumed
consent, they don't have very many people waiting on the wait list any more.
And they often have more organs than they can use.
>> Steve: Now in the past it's always been the case that religious groups say they're
just uncomfortable with this idea.
Do you have them on side with this new bill?
>> France: Finally I do.
There are many different reasons why people would not want to be an organ donor.
I took the time to listen to those different groups.
I took the time to work with them, to say what language would make you comfortable, that your
wishes will be respected?
And I worked together with them and with a bunch of lawyers at Queen's Park who were very
helpful, also, to find the right language to make sure that they felt respected.
They felt that the bill recognized who they were and what their values were.
And that they were going to be respected.
And we -- I finally -- that's the first time that I was able to introduce a bill and
everybody was happy.
There was no push back.
What they wanted to see in the bill was in the bill and for everybody waiting for an organ
they were very happy.
The system of organ donation used to be trillium, gift of life.
It is a very well-oiled machine that has thousands and thousands of volunteers throughout our
province who support organ donation.
They were also very pleased.
>> Steve: Well, it's one thing to get a bill introduced in the legislature.
I don't have to tell you it's another thing to get it passed.
How likely do you think you are to get passage of this bill before the house rises and we're
off to an election campaign?
>> France: Well, I would say had you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said looks pretty
good.
I mean I took the time to talk to some of my colleagues across the aisle on the government
side.
As well as the green and the Liberals that are at Queen's Park.
I would say everybody's pretty well on board.
But now everything's change.
We're not going to be sitting again until April 28 -- Thursday, April 28th when the
budget will be tabled.
I don't go back to Queen's Park until the 28th of April.
So the chances have gone down.
>> Steve: But that's not to say if you win re-election you couldn't come back in the next
legislature and reintroduce essentially the same bill, right?
>> France: Absolutely.
I don't give up easy.
>> Steve: I understand.
Now you have called this bill the Peter Kormos memorial act named after the former MPP from
welland.
Why did you name it after him?
>> France: He is the one who started this.
He is the one who first introduced the bill that had presumed consent.
He did that many, many times.
I think five or six years.
And on the anniversary of his death in 2013, I reintroduced basically the same bill that he
had introduced before.
And I think this is Peter helped me tremendously when I was first elected as an MPP.
He took me under his wing.
He showed me the ropes at Queen's Park, how do you move things forward, how do you get
things done?
What tools are available for MPPs to do their work?
He was very, very generous with his help.
And I miss him and it's a way for me to honour him.
>> Steve: That's a nice tribute to him.
France, thank you for coming on to TVO tonight and explain what it is you are up to and I guess
we'll see you out on the hustings before long.
Take care.
>> France: Pleasure.
Thank you very much.