Last month, Lindsay Brochu was ready to finally receive new lungs. 

The 31-year-old woman from Almonte, Ont., was put on a waitlist for a Toronto transplant program on March 17. She signed a form consenting that she’d be ready for a double-lung transplant as soon as one was available. 

“Emotionally and mentally, I was preparing for that,” she said. “It’s draining, you ensure you’re prepared when you sign that so you’re ready for this… I was ready to go.”

Brochu moved in with her parents in Toronto and waited to be called in for the surgery. Doctors told her it wouldn’t take more than a month.

That same week, Ontario paused transplants that weren’t considered essential due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Some viable organs from deceased donors are not being used as procedures continue to be on hold. 

The process of transplanting an organ requires suppressing the immune system of the recipient within a hospital setting, said Dr. Sam Shemie, an intensive care physician at the McGill University Health Centre and the medical advisor for organ donation at Canadian Blood Services. 

“This puts them at high risk for COVID-19,” he said. “You also have them in the hospital right after the transplant, a place where there is a high amount of COVID-19 infections.”

Transplant programs are being paused across the country until the coronavirus crisis is managed, he explained. 

Recent data from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register found that in 2018, 4,351 people were on a waitlist for an organ transplant. That year, 2,782 transplants were completed.

Canada doesn’t properly track data on organ donations, but he and others are looking at how other countries are managing transplants, said Shemie. There’s a clear worldwide trend indicating the number of organs available has decreased, he said.

Lindsay Brochu says her survival depends on whether she receives a new lung. Photo provided by Lindsay Brochu.

“Other countries that do have the data have told us that injuries or illnesses that might lead to death and the possibility of organ donation has decreased a lot,” he said. 

Traumatic brain injuries that may happen to someone through an accident outside the home have decreased as less people are outside, he said. Those cases usually provide many organ donations, he said.

Currently, transplants are being done in the most “urgent” cases where a patient will die if they don’t receive an organ, he said. 

“We have to be really careful about who we transplant because your immune system is weakening,” he said. “We know that if you have had a transplant, and you get COVID-19, your risk of dying is about five times the average.”

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Waiting for a life-saving procedure

For Brochu, it’s taken years of doctors visits and monitoring her condition to get to the point where she was listed as a good candidate for a new pair of lungs. 

The first signs of trouble started for her during a milestone moment in her life. While hiking in Hawaii in 2016, her boyfriend proposed to her at the peak of a mountain. But that journey to the top caused breathing difficulties, she said.

She’d had lived an active lifestyle beforehand, as she and her now-husband would often hike together.

Returning to Canada, Brochu visited a doctor, assuming the breathing issues was caused by something like asthma. She was then diagnosed with a rare lung disease called pulmonary hypertension.

Doctors told her she likely has a subcategory of the illness that is even rarer, and she’s currently waiting on a genetics test to confirm that.

The disease causes increased blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs and causes shortness of breath and exhaustion. 

While Kelly Villeneuve, 53, feels supported by family and doctors while she is on the Ontario waitlist for a transplant, she says she’s been feeling anxious as she’s unsure when she can receive a new liver.

“You don’t want to be selfish, but it’s just really defeating,” said Villeneuve, who is from Sault-Ste. Marie, Ont. “You just have to sit back and just wait, that’s all you can do.” 

Kelly Villeneuve is waiting for a liver transplant. Photo provided by Kelly Villeneuve.

Her seven doctors have expressed it could take until the summer to receive her transplant. She’s been on the waiting list since early December.

Villeneuve has a hereditary disease called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that can cause lung and liver disease. She’s currently on oxygen and struggles with breathing, but her doctors believe a liver transplant would solve her lung issues as well, she said.

Tasks like making her bed, going up the stairs become “impossible” she said due to her illness.

Her condition isn’t considered urgent enough for a transplant while COVID-19 remains a concern in Canada, she explained.

But she says she isn’t sure how much worse her condition can get before she’s considered sick enough for a transplant during the pandemic. 

“I keep pushing the transplant doctors, and I say ‘I can’t do squat, I can’t even stand at the stove without gasping for air’. How am I supposed to live? This isn’t living,” she said. “And they tell me they are doing what they can… but am I supposed to be on the floor?”

While she waits, Villeneuve says she encourages more Canadians to sign up to be organ donors, or to consider being live donors where you don’t have to be deceased to give someone else a new lease on life. 

“There’s no organs out there. So when everything comes up again, take the time and look into being a live donor,” she said. “You’re doing something for people that’s unbelievable.”

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials say the risk is low for Canadians but warn this could change quickly. They caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are asked to self-isolate for 14 days in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

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