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Organ Transplants per Million Population

The number of organ transplants per million population

Higher rates indicate that more transplants are being performed relative to the size of the population. Age-adjusted rates account for differences in age distributions across provinces. 

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

Crude rate = Number of transplantations performed in a given year ÷ National or provincial population × 1,000,000

Note: The Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) is the data source except for Quebec data, where the Hospital Morbidity Database (HMDB) is the data source.

Unit of analysis: Transplanted organ

Notes:

  1. A bilateral kidney or lung transplant counts as 1 transplant.
  2. For surgeries where more than one organ type was transplanted, each transplanted organ is counted. For example, a kidney–pancreas transplant counts toward kidney and pancreas transplantation volumes and rates.
Denominator

Provincial or national population

Numerator

Number of transplanted organs by the transplant recipient’s province of residence

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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.

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Sources

Canadian Organ Replacement Register and Hospital Morbidity Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.

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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.

Sources

Canadian Organ Replacement Register and Hospital Morbidity Database, Canadian Institute for Health Information.

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Name

Organ Transplants per Million Population

Short/Other Names

Transplant Rate

Description

The number of organ transplants per million population

Rationale

Understanding the geographic, clinical and demographic distribution for each type of organ transplant can help assess needs for research, funding and donor promotion, as well as support evidence-informed decision-making. This can help drive improvement in access, efficiency, quality and outcomes across the organ donation and transplantation continuum of care. 

Interpretation

Higher rates indicate that more transplants are being performed relative to the size of the population. Age-adjusted rates account for differences in age distributions across provinces. 

HSP Framework Dimension

Health system outcomes: Improve health status of Canadians

Targets/Benchmarks

Not applicable

Available Data Years

to (calendar years)

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • National
  • Province/Territory
  • Sex
  • Age
  • Transplant combination type 
  • Graft number
  • Diagnosis category
  • Donor type
  • Organ

Indicator Results

Not applicable

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

Not applicable

Description

Crude rate = Number of transplantations performed in a given year ÷ National or provincial population × 1,000,000

Note: The Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) is the data source except for Quebec data, where the Hospital Morbidity Database (HMDB) is the data source.

Unit of analysis: Transplanted organ

Notes:

  1. A bilateral kidney or lung transplant counts as 1 transplant.
  2. For surgeries where more than one organ type was transplanted, each transplanted organ is counted. For example, a kidney–pancreas transplant counts toward kidney and pancreas transplantation volumes and rates.

Type of Measurement

Rate - Per 1,000,000

Denominator

Description:

Provincial or national population

Inclusions:

The population of the province or territory as determined from the Canadian census

Exclusions:

For intestinal transplant rates: Residents of Quebec 

Numerator

Description:

Number of transplanted organs by the transplant recipient’s province of residence

Inclusions:

The data source is CORR for transplants performed outside of Quebec and the HMDB for transplants performed in Quebec. Note that due to data coverage concerns, results for intestinal transplants exclude Quebec.

Definition of organ transplantation

  1. Kidney: CORR organ type code beginning with 1; HMDB CCI code 1.PC.85.^^, 1.OK.85.XU-XX-K or 1.OK.85.XV-XX-K
  2. Liver: CORR organ type code beginning with 2 or 90; HMDB CCI code 1.OA.85.^^
  3. Heart: CORR organ type code 30 or 43; HMDB CCI code 1.HZ.85.^^ or 1.HY.85.^^
  4. Lung: CORR organ type code beginning with 4; HMDB CCI code 1.GR.85.^^, 1.HY.85 or 1.GT.85.^^
  5. Pancreas, excluding islets: CORR organ type code beginning with 5 or 90, excluding 52; HMDB CCI code 1.OK.85.^^
  6. Islets: CORR organ type code 52; HMDB CCI code 1.OJ.85.^^
  7. Intestine: CORR organ type code 60 or 90

Note that in multi-organ transplant surgeries each type of organ is counted toward this indicator in its respective organ category. Bilateral kidney and lung transplants are counted once.

Exclusions:

  1. Intestine transplants: Records where the province of residence is Quebec or unknown

Method of Adjustment

Direct standardization

2011 Canadian population standard 

Adjustment Applied

Age-adjusted

Covariates used in risk adjustment:

Not applicable

Geographic Assignment

Place of residence

Data Sources

  • CORR
  • HMDB

Caveats and Limitations

Transplants performed in Quebec are under-reported in CORR. Consequently, the HMDB is used as the data source for transplants performed in Quebec. However, in the case where the liver is transplanted with other abdominal organs, the code used in the HMDB does not identify which other organs were transplanted. Thus, the following limitations apply:

  • Intestinal transplants are often done in combination with transplants for other abdominal organs. Because of the above coding limitations, the total number of intestinal transplants cannot be derived from the HMDB. Intestinal transplant rates are not available for Quebec and national estimates exclude Quebec. National estimates also exclude any intestinal transplants from CORR with unknown patient province of residence and thus may be slightly under-reported.
  • Pancreas transplants that are done in combination with liver will not be counted; thus pancreas transplant rates will be slightly under-reported in Quebec.

Note that the methodology for counting transplants may differ slightly from what is seen in CORR data tables, especially for combination transplants and transplants for Quebec residents. Use caution when comparing results across products.

Trending Issues

Not applicable 

Comments

Future reporting will use data from the new Canadian Organ Donation and Transplantation Data System (CanODT) once it is available. 

References

Not applicable

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Organ Transplants per Million Population. Accessed April 25, 2025.