Vancouver transplant cancelled last-minute, health-care specialist was unavailable

“VCH can also confirm that, unfortunately, perfusionist staffing challenges at (Vancouver General Hospital) led to the postponement of a lung transplant procedure earlier this month and the loss of the donated organs,” a spokesman said in an emailed answer to submitted questions.

“At the time, there were multiple competing emergent-patient demands placed on the perfusionist team and, as a result, they did not have the added capacity to support the transplant procedure.

“This is the first time since starting the lung transplant program in 2002 that VGH has had to cancel a procedure due to perfusionist staffing challenges.”

B.C. has been having trouble retaining perfusionists since demand for them spiked during COVID.

According to ZipRecruiter, a cardiac perfusionist earns an average annual salary of $145,000 in B.C. But in Alberta, the average salary is almost $165,000, and in Washington State it’s $200,000.

Chamberlain’s MLA, Brennan Day, brought the situation up during Question Period in Victoria last week.

His research shows that almost 40 per cent of current perfusionists under the age of 40 plan on leaving the field within five years because of staff-related stress.

“It’s because (the government) has not found a way to compensate perfusionists accordingly,” Day said.

Since he brought it up in Question Period, Day said he has had 40 emails from transplant surgeons and perfusionists “saying it’s about time somebody talked about this because this has been a problem for years now that has been completely unaddressed.”

There are three perfusionist training programs in Canada: At the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in Toronto, the University of Montreal (French-language only), and BCIT.

Postmedia asked the provincial ministry of health how many perfusionist positions there are in B.C. and if any remain unfilled, but did not receive a reply by publication.

Health Minister Josie Osborne said on Monday that she can only imagine what Chamberlain has been through.

“It just speaks to the urgency of the work that we are doing to attract specialists, to build a cadre of heath-care workers across the entire system to ensure that people get the health care they need, when and where they live,” Osborne said.

“This is a specific specialty of a support that is needed for this type of transplant surgery, and we are working across all specialties to ensure that we have the right numbers of people in ratio, so that we can ensure that these lifesaving surgeries can take place.”

Lost in all this is the family of the deceased donor, said Chamberlain, a long-time donor volunteer himself.

“There’s another side to this tragedy. They must be feeling pretty bad, and I feel very sorry for them.

“Imagine what that family feels, what they are going through, thinking they might get some kind of closure for their loved one, and then to see (the lungs disposed of). That would leave quite a scar.”

— with file from Alec Lazenby

gordmcintyre@postmedia.com

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