With 80 per cent of people on the transplant list waiting for a kidney, B.C. Transplant is asking British Columbians to make it their new year's resolution to join more than a million other residents in registering as an organ donor.
The good news is donation and transplant rates are record breaking, with 423 people getting the transplant they needed in B.C. in 2016.
The bad news is that there are still more than 600 people in the province on the wait list and 21 people died last year waiting.
In B.C. in 2016 there was 97 deceased donors. Seven of those donors were from within the Northern Health region, up from one in 2015 and 2014, and none between 2010 and 2013.
There were 95 living donors in B.C. last year.
"Families can be proud of their decision to register as organ donors, and I hope this trend will encourage even more people to register their decision, making the new year a fresh start for many in need of a transplant," said Health Minister Terry Lake.
Out of the 423 people who got transplants last year, 21 were in the Northern Health region, up from 17 of 422 in 2015.
