Further to your question posed to the honourable Minister Antoine, I am pleased to provide the following information.
There is provision for organ donation through the Critical Care Unit at Stanton Regional Hospital in Yellowknife. An Alberta organization, the Human Organ and Procurement Exchange Society (HOPE) supplies the funding and personnel for organ retrieval procedures at Stanton. HOPE also organizes organ transplant services in Alberta and coordinates with similar organizations across Canada and the United States.
There have been requests to include an organ donor agreement on NWT drivers' licences. Instead, the Department of Health and Social Services is going to look at the possibility of including this information on health care cards. Health care cards are more widely held by NWT residents than drivers' licences. With the creation of two new territories, health care cards will be redesigned. The department is actively pursuing the idea of incorporating organ donation information on the new health care cards.
We should remember that signing a card does not guarantee organ donation. People should discuss their wishes with their families. It is important that families know their loved one wants to be an organ donor, as the next of kin always have final approval of any organ donation.
The second return to oral question Mr. Speaker, asked by Mr. Picco on February 3, 1998.