Madam Chair, I apologize. I missed most of the translation of that question. However, I will say there was an important transplantation workshop organized by CIHR in Montreal and certain positions came out of that.
Every year, thousands of Canadians receive transplants of solid organs, stem cells and pancreatic islet cells. End stage renal, liver, lung, heart, pancreatic and small intestine failures are now treated by organ replacement. For cancer, stem cell transplantation can be a cure. However, there are currently more than 4,000 Canadians on waiting lists for organ transplants, far more than accommodated by our current rate of organ donation. Achieving long-term survival accompanied by a good quality of life remains a challenge. The health and economic burden in Canadian society is steadily rising and the aging demographic creates increasing demand for donor organs.
In addition to these challenges, CIHR transplant workshop participants identified the need for improving both quality and quantity of living and deceased donor organs; improving our understanding of the immunological mechanisms and pathways mediating transplantation-related infection, inflammation and immunosuppresssion in humans; overcoming rejection and establishing the long-term tolerance to grafts; developing improved therapeutics to sustain graft survival with fewer adverse side effects, and expediting their uptake into clinical practice; establishing tailored transplantation policies and programs for children and other vulnerable populations; and developing national standards of clinical care and mechanisms for long-term follow-up of Canadian transplant recipients.
In order to address these challenges, CIHR transplantation workshop participants recommended that teams and networks would foster collaborations across the field of research; partner with public and private sector for the purpose of forging the necessary linkages among the transplant communities; support a common platforms, infrastructure, databases and operating procedures; and encourage training.