Saskatchewan patients waiting for life-saving surgeries, clarity from health officials
Global News
Two people waiting for organ transplants may have a glimmer of hope after optimistic messages from medical officials. But they're still waiting and hoping for more clarity.
Jessica Bailey’s kidney has less than one per cent function left. Krystal Graham, meanwhile, is facing end-stage liver failure.
They both desperately need organ transplants and can’t get them.
On Sept. 23, Saskatchewan Health Authority leaders announced the health provider was slowing down some services and cancelling others because hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the SHA said organ transplants can be considered, in rare instances, on a case-by-case basis depending on factors like the availability of beds.
Case counts and hospitalizations have continued to rise since then, breaking records several days in a row. But Bailey and Graham are both hoping they’ll get their surgeries.
Bailey said an organ transplant coordinator called her last week to say she might still get a transplant. She was waiting for a follow-up call on Tuesday, but said it never came.
“I don’t know if they’re dodging or stalling or they just don’t know,” she said, “but even then, just say that.”
She said she’s a little more hopeful than when she first heard the news, “but then I’m just as apprehensive that it’s going to get torn away from me again.