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Median Time From Dialysis Start to Kidney Transplantation

For patients who received a kidney transplant, the median number of days between the start of their dialysis and transplantation

Lower median times are desirable.

Data updated:
Data availability: to (calendar years)
Geographic coverage
All provinces/territories
Reporting level
National, Province/Territory
Calculation

The median number of days from dialysis start to kidney transplant. Only people who received a kidney transplant are included. Only transplants that were performed in Canada are included. Pre-emptive transplants are included and have a dialysis time of 0. Results are presented by year of transplant.

Unit of analysis: Transplanted kidney. A bilateral kidney transplant counts as 1 transplant.

Kidney transplants as reported in the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) (organ type code beginning with 1) between 2013 and 2023 are included. 

The following are excluded:

  1. Transplants performed in Quebec, due to incomplete data coverage
  2. Retransplants (graft number >1) where the previous transplant was not recorded in CORR

The date of the first dialysis treatment for a patient reported in CORR is considered the dialysis start date. For retransplants, the date of the first dialysis treatment since the previous transplant is considered the dialysis start date.

Records with no dialysis data are considered pre-emptive transplants and have a dialysis time of 0.

Denominator

Not applicable

Numerator

Not applicable

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Notes

Certain metric values were suppressed or modified for confidentiality reasons in accordance with CIHI’s privacy policy. These values are identified with the text “Suppressed” in the data tables and hover-over tool tip.

The dash (—) indicates that no data is available. Select different parameters or reset the chart.

Pre-emptive transplants have a dialysis time of 0. 

Source

Canadian Organ Replacement Register, Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Important: Please make selections from left to right. If the chart does not update, click “Reset chart.”

Note: Table automatically refreshes following each selection.

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Notes

Certain metric values were suppressed or modified for confidentiality reasons in accordance with CIHI’s privacy policy. These values are identified with the text “Suppressed” in the data tables and hover-over tool tip.

The dash (—) indicates that no data is available. Select different parameters or reset the chart.

Pre-emptive transplants have a dialysis time of 0. 

Source

Canadian Organ Replacement Register, Canadian Institute for Health Information.

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Name

Median Time From Dialysis Start to Kidney Transplantation

Short/Other Names

Not applicable

Description

For patients who received a kidney transplant, the median number of days between the start of their dialysis and transplantation

Rationale

People waiting for an organ transplant are at risk of becoming more ill or of dying from their organ failure, and longer wait times can lead to worse outcomes. The time between dialysis start and kidney transplantation is influenced by patients’ clinical characteristics and the availability of organs. Understanding the distribution of wait times for organs can help identify areas of need and variability by geography, demographics and clinical characteristics, as well as over time.

Interpretation

Lower median times are desirable.

HSP Framework Dimension

Health system outputs: Access to comprehensive, high-quality health services

Targets/Benchmarks

Not applicable

Available Data Years

to (calendar years)

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • National
  • Province/Territory
  • Organ
  • Age 
  • Sex
  • Diagnosis category
  • Neighbourhood income quintile of patient residence
  • Patient urban, rural or remote residence
  • Graft number
  • Transplant combination type

Indicator Results

Not applicable

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

Not applicable

Description

The median number of days from dialysis start to kidney transplant. Only people who received a kidney transplant are included. Only transplants that were performed in Canada are included. Pre-emptive transplants are included and have a dialysis time of 0. Results are presented by year of transplant.

Unit of analysis: Transplanted kidney. A bilateral kidney transplant counts as 1 transplant.

Kidney transplants as reported in the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) (organ type code beginning with 1) between 2013 and 2023 are included. 

The following are excluded:

  1. Transplants performed in Quebec, due to incomplete data coverage
  2. Retransplants (graft number >1) where the previous transplant was not recorded in CORR

The date of the first dialysis treatment for a patient reported in CORR is considered the dialysis start date. For retransplants, the date of the first dialysis treatment since the previous transplant is considered the dialysis start date.

Records with no dialysis data are considered pre-emptive transplants and have a dialysis time of 0.

Type of Measurement

Number - Median

Denominator

Description:

Not applicable

Inclusions:

Not applicable

Exclusions:

Not applicable

Numerator

Description:

Not applicable

Inclusions:

Not applicable

Exclusions:

Not applicable

Geographic Assignment

Place of service

Data Sources

  • CORR

Caveats and Limitations

Data is available only for patients who receive a transplant. This indicator does not reflect the experiences of those who were removed from the wait-list, died on the wait-list, are still waiting or were never listed.

The reported number of transplants may differ from that reported in other indicators because this indicator excludes transplants performed in Quebec and retransplants missing previous transplant dates.

Trending Issues

Not applicable

Comments

Not applicable

References

Not applicable

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Median Time From Dialysis Start to Kidney Transplantation. Accessed April 25, 2025.