moved for leave to introduce Bill C-477, An Act to establish the Pan-Canadian Organ Donor Registry and to coordinate and promote organ donation throughout Canada.
Mr. Speaker, there is an absolute need for a national donor registry right across the country. There are a number of provinces that do not have donor registries at all. This would combine all that information so folks would not have to wait for donors.
Now there are literally 4,000 transplant recipients across the country waiting for an organ donor. In some cases, for certain types of donors, 80% of that donor tissue is coming from the United States. This would rectify the issue. Whether folks lived on the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast or the Arctic coast, they would be on a registry and would get matched. Then we would not see the issue of donors who wished to give that material not have it get to the appropriate recipient simply because the information was not there. The bill is about that.
I would point out that the Canadian Blood Services supports it. The Canadian Transplant Association has also said there is need for this as a bigger picture of how to do donor transplants across the country. I would appreciate the support of the House.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)