The wait for a kidney transplant in Canada can differ according to provinces, says a new study in Tuesday's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
People on dialysis in Alberta were four times more likely to receive a replacement kidney than those in Ontario, the study conducted over a five-year period found. Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada's four provinces and Quebec also had lesser wait times for kidneys than Ontario.''We can say that you're going to be waiting one to three years longer in Ontario than you would in Alberta,'' said nephrologist Dr. Marcello Tonelli, lead author of the study. He added that there was a shortage of kidneys everywhere. ''Although you're better off if you're in Alberta, waiting times are still very long if you're here - three to five years,'' he said. ''The differences (among provinces) just tell part of the story. Patients in every region have to wait too long. So we need to increase donations everywhere.''
One finding is that patients anywhere be it urban or rural area had to wait for same amount of time. ''In fact, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that the system is working well in looking after and serving the needs of remote-and rural-dwelling patients. We found no evidence that there was any disparity there at all.''
The solution is for people to donate more kidneys, he said.
Source-Medindia
RAS
