Green Shirt Day is one of many efforts in Alberta to encourage organ and tissue donation, which reached a new record in 2024. (Photo: Pattison Media)

By David Opinko

Alberta had record year for organ and/or tissue donations in 2024

Aug 5, 2025 | 8:58 AM

More and more Albertans are registering to donate their organs and/or tissues when they die, which has resulted in more people receiving needed transplants.

Alberta’s organ and tissue donation program, Give Life Alberta, reports that 317 deceased donors gave their organs and/or tissues to those in need in 2024. That is a new all-time record for the province.

This led to 423 organs being transplanted and hundreds of lives being saved.

It also marks the third consecutive year of increasing deceased donation rates in Alberta, with 273 donors in 2023 and 248 in 2022.

Calgarian Mike Cahill received a kidney transplant last year, and says he had spent the last three years on at-home and in-clinic dialysis.

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“My life was on hold. It felt like having a weight on every limb. It was hard to work up the willpower to go do anything,” says Cahill, adding that the transplant has saved his life. “I’m eternally grateful to their family. It definitely was a life-changing decision.”

Alberta Health Services says one organ donor can save up to eight lives, and a tissue donor can improve or save up to 75 lives.

Dr. Andreas Kramer, Medical Director of Give Life Alberta, says there are currently more than 500 people on waiting lists for life-saving transplants.

“Donation and transplantation makes a huge difference for patients in need of organs or tissues. It can be life-saving. It can have a huge impact on patients’ quality of life,” says Kramer. “Donation can also provide families with some comfort during a time of great loss. The fact that we’re able to provide that option for more families is good news.”

There have been several initiatives in recent years to encourage more people in Alberta to register as organ and tissue donors.

Toby Boulet, a Lethbridge-based advocate for organ and tissue donation, previously told Pattison Media that adding a checkbox to indicate intent to sign up for donation on next year’s T1 tax forms is a great step.

“It’s a matter of the more times it’s placed in front of a person and the easier you make it, the better chance it has to happen,” says Boulet.

READ MORE: Organ donation checkbox on AB tax forms a great step, says advocate

Other steps to encourage donation include:

• The Specialist in End-of-Life Care, Neuroprognostication and Donation (SEND) program, which launched in 2021, involves specialized intensive care physicians working closely with healthcare teams to ensure high-quality end-of-life care, which can include identifying and caring for potential organ donors. SEND has helped to significantly reduce missed organ donation opportunities.
• In 2023, the province’s Bill 205 — Mandatory Referral legislation — took effect, directing hospitals to refer all dying patients who could be eligible to donate organs or tissues to a donation program.
• The newly formed Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Program (AOTDP) united five dedicated healthcare teams in Edmonton and Calgary, with a provincial office to guide the program.
• In 2024, Alberta increased public awareness efforts, including rebranding AOTDP as Give Life Alberta, creating the user-friendly web page GiveLifeAlberta.ca, and launching the multiple-award-winning public awareness campaign “All the Ways.”
• Also in 2024, Give Life Alberta added four senior donation consultants to partner with hospital leadership teams for professional education to optimize organ and tissue donation practices.

Albertans can sign up to become organ donors at GiveLifeAlberta.ca or a motor vehicle registry office.

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