'Unbelievably heartbreaking': Sask. nurse left waiting for transplant as province suspends organ donation program
Krystal Graham has been on the liver transplant waitlist for about a year. Now, she says she is concerned COVID-19 will delay her life-saving surgery even longer.
Saskatchewan has suspended its organ donation program indefinitely as part of the health authority’s COVID-19 surge plan. For the time being, the province will only provide immediate tissue donations, particularly for ocular patients.
“Unfortunately, that has been one of the side effects of the surge capacity management that we’ve had to do to support ICU care in the province,” said Lori Garchinski, tertiary care director for the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Garchinski said organ donation coordinators are being moved to help intensive care patients in Regina and Saskatoon.
As a result of the program suspension, Garchinski said if an organ donor dies, those organs would not go to anyone.
“Unfortunately, that gift and that registration that they so kindly provided would not be able to come to fruition,” she said.
Graham, 37, suffers from a rare genetic liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). She was diagnosed when she was nine years old and received her first liver transplant when she was 24.
Krystal Graham following her first liver transplant. (Supplied: Krystal Graham)
Krystal Graham following her first liver transplant. (Supplied: Krystal Graham)
Saskatchewan does not perform liver transplants, which meant Graham had to go to Edmonton for the surgery.
The year-long recovery process was challenging as she went through multiple anti-rejection drugs, she said, but it was worth it in the end
“It’s just such a great feeling that someone did that for me,” Graham said.
“I got my life back.”
The disease came back six years ago, and she is in need of a second liver transplant. She said it’s a daunting process made worse by the program suspension.
“This is just so unbelievably heartbreaking,” said Graham, who became a licensed practitioner nurse after her first transplant.
“Not only do I have to wrap my head around needing another transplant and how scarce they already are, but now I have to worry about it even more.”
Graham said many factors go into finding the perfect match, including blood type and organ size. But she says the biggest challenge is the lack of organ donors in the country.
Last September, Saskatchewan launched an online organ and tissue donor registry. Graham is encouraging people to have that conversation with family members and register as donors.
According to 2020 data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, roughly 4,400 people are waiting for transplants. Seventy-nine of those are in Saskatchewan.
Last year, two patients in the province died while waiting for a match.
“It’s tricky because (doctors) don’t know how quickly the disease will progress, so you kind of just wait and see what happens,” she said.
For the time being, Graham manages her symptoms with medication, plasma treatments and regular esophageal scopes. But she said she still deals with fatigue, nausea, gastrointestinal issues and esophageal bleeds.
Graham said a full liver transplant is the one thing that will fix it all.
“Transplants are very hard and the recovery process is very hard, but I know I’ll get my life back, live life to the fullest and make so many new, happy memories,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
NEW Life got in the way of one woman's reunion with her father, but a DNA test gained her a family
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
Quebec Health Department reports 28 cases of eye damage linked to solar eclipse
Quebec's Health Department says it has received 28 reports of eye damage related to the April 8 total solar eclipse that passed over southern parts of the province.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.