• Canada’s Rise in Drug Overdoses Has Triggered a Rise in Organ Transplants
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[QUOTE]More organ donors are dying of drug overdoses, according to new stats released this week. After a brutal year where more than 900 people died of drug overdoses in British Columbia, doctors are pointing to one morbid upside. New stats released by the health agency responsible for organ transplants show that's not exactly a far-off nightmare anymore. Health officials have noticed a significant uptick in organ donor deaths, and say that fentanyl is likely playing a role. According to BC Transplant, the number of organ donors in the first weeks of 2017 has doubled over this time last year, from 10 to 20. That's resulted in 59 transplants, up from 37 organs over the same period in 2016. "It's heartbreaking anytime someone dies suddenly in a way that makes them a candidate to be an organ donor," reads an emailed statement from Tina Robinson, communications manager for the health agency. "It's remarkable that the legacy of some of these people is giving the gift of life to someone waiting for a transplant." "We started tracking the connection between fentanyl and organ donation more closely at the start of 2017, and fentanyl has been a contributing factor in about a quarter of our donors so far this year." BC Transplant's statement cautions against drawing conclusions based on a small amount of recent data. But long term trends show the proportion of organ donors dying from overdose has gone up steadily over many years. Back in 2013, 7.5 percent of organ donors tested positive for drugs. In 2016, that number rose to 22.7 percent. Robinson challenged the notion that lungs or kidneys from drug users would harm the patients that receive them. "Drug overdose does not stop someone from becoming an organ donor," she told VICE. "Physicians will only offer organs that they believe to be safe to recipients, and where the benefits of transplants would outweigh the risk."[/QUOTE] [url]https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bcs-fentanyl-crisis-has-triggered-a-rise-in-organ-transplants[/url]
Ya win some ya lose some.
Silver linings and all that. I know someone who just had to have two liver transplants (first transplant didn't take) so the extra organs (no idea how fentanyl affects the liver btw) are good news.
Thanks Fentanyl
Fentanyl saved my life!
What if they're over-prescribing fentanyl to purposefully get people addicted and eventually overdose?
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;51855212]What if they're over-prescribing fentanyl to purposefully get people addicted and eventually overdose?[/QUOTE] Except the vast majority of fentanyl related overdoses were non-prescribed.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;51855212]What if they're over-prescribing fentanyl to purposefully get people addicted and eventually overdose?[/QUOTE] Google "batman gambit."
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;51855212]What if they're over-prescribing fentanyl to purposefully get people addicted and eventually overdose?[/QUOTE] That would make sense if it was being prescribed and not being mixed in with cocaine and heroin.
So canada is solving their organ transplant and their drug user/homeless problem at once in a sick twist of fate
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