As the novel coronavirus wave started to roll across Canada, transplant centres had to make difficult decisions: how best to protect patients who need transplant surgeries and create space for COVID-19 patients.
Toronto General Hospital is the country’s largest transplant program and one of the top in the world. It is a centre for innovation and care for patients from several provinces, so the decision to scale back surgeries was difficult for everyone. “When we do a transplant, we put patients on anti-rejection pills and that means really knocking down their immune system,” Dr.
Atul Humar, medical director of the Multi-Organ Transplant Program, told Global News. “We’re very worried if we do that to patients, and then if they get COVID,