Yahoo Finance Woman worries health of husband waiting for kidney will deteriorate while Sask. organ donor program paused
A Regina woman whose husband is waiting for a kidney transplant says when she heard Saskatchewan's organ donation program was being paused, she was "shocked that it was actually one of the decisions made."
The province indefinitely suspended the program last month because of record-breaking COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Janice Murphy said her husband François Ébrottié has been on home dialysis since late last year and has been on the kidney transplant list for at least a year and a half.
She said for someone who is able to get a kidney transplant in Saskatchewan, the typical wait time is two to five years. It could be much sooner for someone who has a living donor who is a perfect match, which he doesn't have, she said.
She and Ébrottié, who she said is under the age of 50, have older children and also two daughters, aged seven and 17, who are still living with them at home.
'Extremely disappointed'
She said the kidney clinic likely didn't get the news much longer before she did, but she was also confused to see something in the media that affects her personally without knowing beforehand.
"I was reading the news over lunch and then saw it and then watched the news at night," she said. "It was weird because this completely changes your life. And it was just a weird way to find out."
She said she is "extremely disappointed."
"I would really love them to make decisions based on the well-being of the people of Saskatchewan," she said. "That's what I'm feeling."
She said her husband was also disappointed.
"Because this is what you count on, this is what you always hope for when you're doing the two, three, four processes a day you need to do for your dialysis," she said.
Worries about possible deteriorating health during pause
She said he is feeling well now and they're hoping that's going to last as long as possible while the organ donation program is on hold.
It's always better for a person to get a kidney when they're still healthy in terms of how they're feeling, she said.
"What we're afraid of is that if these things keep going — and obviously the longer you go, you've lost opportunities to get a kidney — your health might deteriorate," she said.
"And that's our fear. How long is this going to last? Because we don't want to wait until his health deteriorates."
Murphy met with Regina Pasqua and Saskatchewan Party MLA Muhammad Fiaz Monday afternoon.
She said she was going with a picture of her husband because she wants the government to see the face of what its decision is affecting.
"My husband works. He's a contributing member to the economy of Saskatchewan. So if we're talking about economy, we've got it there," she said.
"He's still able to work as long as he can get the right health support."
Government responds
Fiaz wasn't willing to discuss the specifics of his meeting with Murphy. But when told about her remarks about her husband's situation, Fiaz said it was a very unfortunate situation specific to the family — and not the only one.
He said "we are performing our primary duty to try our best" to provide for everyone's health needs.
In a statement, the Government of Saskatchewan said it is not able to speak to any specific patient cases due to patient privacy concerns.
But it also said if patients or their family members have questions and concerns about their care or the care of their loved ones, that they reach out to the quality of care coordinators office.
In a statement provided to Radio-Canada, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said, "We are saddened as an organization to have to take this step as part of our overall service slowdown, as we always strive to provide support to patients and families in their decision on whether to pass on the gift of life to someone in need."
It said the the Saskatchewan Organ and Tissue Donation Program was suspended due to the significant increase in acute care and ICU patients, the strain this has put on hospital resources and the need to maintain its standards of care and support.
Missed opportunities
Since the program was suspended, it has resulted in "at least five or more" missed opportunities for organ donation, the SHA statement said.
It said in rare cases, organ transplants from living donors or out of province deceased donors can be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on a number of factors. This is a high-risk procedure, and the impact of COVID-19 has created additional complications, it said.
The SHA said there was a successful living donation transplant in September despite the slowdowns and it continues to investigate urgent cases on a case-by-case basis.
As of September 30, it said the kidney transplant wait list has 51 names and there are two patients waiting for a living donation organ.
When asked what others could do for her family, Murphy said people who don't find the government's decision acceptable should speak out.
"We all have a responsibility to speak up and not just when it affects us directly, right? So this is a learning for me, too," she said. "It's not just waiting until something affects us directly."
She also asks people to sign their donor card.
