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• In 2023, more than 49,000 Canadians were living with ESKD. Of these, 29,906 Canadians were on dialysis, while an additional 19,356Footnote i were living with a functioning kidney transplant. 
• 3,427 Canadians were waiting for a solid organ transplant as of December 31, 2023. Of these, 71% were waiting for a kidney, 14% for a liver, 5% for a lung, 3% for a heart, 3% for a pancreas and 3% for a combination of organs.
• In 2023, a total of 3,406 transplantationsReference 1 occurred in Canada, of which 3,369 were solid organ transplants. This is the first year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in which solid organ transplants exceeded 2019 numbers (12% increase compared with 3,016 solid organ transplants in 2019).
• In 2023, there were 951 deceased donors, the highest number over the last decade. This represents a 15% increase compared with 2022 (N = 827) and a 61% increase compared with 2014 (N = 591).
• Canadian living donations increased by 21% in 2023 (N = 594) compared with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (N = 490). But the 2023 volume is still 3% less than it was in 2019 (N = 614).
   

The number of ESKD patients in Canada continues to rise. There was a 19% increase in incident patients receiving renal replacement therapy (dialysis or pre-emptive kidney transplant) over the last 10 years (N = 6,243 in 2023 versus N = 5,242 in 2014).Footnote i

Other trends observed in CanadaFootnote i for ESKD between 2014 and 2023 are as follows:

• Only 3% of Canadians with incident kidney failure received a pre-emptive kidney transplant in 2023 (N = 181); proportions have remained consistent across the last decade.
• While the number of ESKD patients who chose home dialysis as their initial type of treatment increased by 4% in 2023 (N = 1,293) compared with 2022 (N = 1,244), it is lower than numbers from 2019 (N = 1,387; 7% decrease), 2020 (N = 1,493; 13% decrease) and 2021 (N = 1,448; 11% decrease).  
• The median wait time for adult dialysis patients to receive a deceased donor kidney improved by 10% between 2014 and 2023 (from 3.8 years down to 3.4 years), while wait time for a living donor in adult dialysis patients improved by 3% (from 311 days in 2014 to 303 days in 2023).
• The most recent 1-, 3- and 5-year graft survival rates for deceased donor kidney transplants were 95%, 88% and 79%, respectively, while rates for living donor kidney transplants were 98%, 94% and 90%, respectively.

For additional dialysis data, including Quebec data for 2020 to 2023, please download the dialysis and pre-emptive kidney transplant data tables (XLSX). 

While Canada has made improvements in the donation and transplantation of life-saving organs over the past decade, there remains a large gap between the need for organs and the number of donors and of transplants performed. As a result, organ failure patients often experience lengthy wait times, with some patients dying before a suitable organ becomes available.

End-stage organ failure is complex, with treatment options and donation practices/processes continuously evolving to optimize outcomes. By collecting and reporting on data in an ongoing and systematic way, CORR can assist with decision-making to monitor system performance and drive improvements. 

• Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) 
• Organ replacement in Canada: CORR annual statistics
• Summary statistics on organ transplants, wait-lists and donors 
• Data Quality Documentation for Users: Canadian Organ Replacement Register, 2014 to 2023 Data (PDF)

Have questions?

Email us at 

corr@cihi.ca