Sask. NDP calls on province to resume organ donation program

REGINA -

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to do more to restore life-saving surgeries in hospitals across the province.

Jessica Bailey has lived in Saskatchewan her whole life and is currently suffering from stage 5 kidney failure.

She had recently found a kidney donor and was waiting for surgery this fall, only to have it cancelled after healthcare workers were redeployed to deal with the fourth wave of COVID-19 and the organ donation program was suspended. 

“I feel betrayed by my government,” said Bailey. “It’s not just me its many people like me and I don’t know why COVID-19 as an illness is being the only thing treated right now, where cancer patients and transplant patients are getting thrown under the bus”.

The NDP says the province should immediately find solutions to resume the organ donation program.

“Their ability to get the care they need (was) suspended as the result of the decisions of Scott Moe and Paul Merriman to ignore the coming fourth wave is a result in this completely avoidable and tragic healthcare lockdown,” said Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili.

Premier Scott Moe is calling the surgical backlog one of the most significant challenges the government has faced over the last couple of months.

“The Ministry of Health is working very hard on ensuring that as our numbers continue to go down, our hospitalization numbers continue to come down, that we are actively looking on how to increase and bring our surgical capacity back up to where it was,” said Moe.

The premier also says the province is working to send 90 per cent of redeployed healthcare staff back to their previous positions by the end of the month.

In the meantime, Bailey is still waiting for her lifesaving transplant.

“As a palliative patient, a year is your life span so its important to get the ball rolling as fast as possible,” said Bailey.