Héma-Québec Sets the Record Straight

In the wake of the introduction at the National Assembly of Bill 7—which assigns to Héma-Québec the responsibilities of coordinating the organ donation and transplantation process, currently carried out by Transplant Québec—a great deal has been said publicly. Héma-Québec wishes to clarify certain facts regarding both the evolution of its mission over the past 27 years and this new mandate, which holds great promise for organ donation and transplantation in Québec.

It bears repeating: Héma-Québec is relying on the expertise of Transplant Québec to ensure a smooth transition. This expertise is unique and essential.

Since the introduction of Bill 7, Héma-Québec has been clear: transferring the responsibilities for organ donation in Québec to Héma-Québec can only occur if the entire Transplant Québec team stays in place. This approach aims to bring together the strengths of both organizations, creating strong synergies that will improve the system—without compromising what already works well.

More specifically, Transplant Québec would be integrated as a subsidiary, ensuring the continuity of its activities and current operating methods. No procedural changes are expected in the short term, as the highest priority remains patient safety and the seamless functioning of transplantation operations. This transition is not a rupture, but rather an alliance—a springboard, an opportunity to combine expertise and resources to build a more efficient system and save more lives.

This integration can and must enhance the performance of Québec’s organ donation and transplantation system.

Over the years, Transplant Québec has demonstrated remarkable expertise, even with limited resources—a testament to its strong commitment. That said, the integration recommended by Héma-Québec seeks to build on this foundation and go further. Our ambition is clear: to create an organ donation and transplantation system that is even more effective, more integrated, and profoundly human. By combining Transplant Québec’s recognized expertise with Héma-Québec’s infrastructure, resources and complementary expertise (including its existing role in managing human tissue donation), we open the door to powerful synergies that will improve the experience of patients, donors and their families. Fewer hurdles, smoother processes—and above all, more lives saved.

This integration will naturally advance through ongoing dialogue with Transplant Québec’s experts, the clinical community, and with those at the centre of the process — patients, donors and their families. Their voices are essential to building a system that reflects their needs, expectations and values. Together, all these stakeholders will contribute to the co-creation of a model rooted in solidarity, efficiency and humanity.

The ultimate goal of this mandate is to reduce the number of patients waiting for a transplant.

Hundreds of people in Québec are waiting for an organ transplant—a critical situation. Every day matters, every life matters. This reality is not a reason to keep the system unchanged; on the contrary, it underscores the need to improve it, notably by using Héma-Québec’s undeniable expertise and resources as levers. Ultimately, maintaining the status quo is not an option; and although progress has been made, Québec can still do better.

The rationale for consolidating organ and tissue donation with the management of blood is supported by international examples.

The United Kingdom is often cited to illustrate certain concerns. Yet it is only one example among many. Several other countries, including New Zealand, Croatia and Portugal, could also be mentioned. Portugal integrates blood, organs, tissues and cells and ranks second in the world for donors per million inhabitants—making it a true source of inspiration.

More specifically, the table below shows how widespread the combined model is: all the listed organizations manage both organ and human tissue donation, and three of them are also responsible for blood management. Ultimately, comparing Québec with other jurisdictions, including the rest of Canada, simply demonstrates that assigning coordination of these activities to a single organization—one that also manages blood—is neither unprecedented nor inappropriate. It is, on the contrary, a highly promising structure.

This transfer of responsibilities is not about marginal cost savings, but about optimized collaboration and saving lives.

A persistent misconception suggests that if current staff and processes are maintained, the change would result only in “pennies saved.” This perception is not only wrong—it obscures the very purpose of the bill. The objective is not to reduce costs at any price but to build a system that is more efficient, more integrated, and better positioned to save lives.

It is also important to recall that during the public hearings of the Committee on Health and Social Services as part of the initiative mandate on presumed consent for organ and tissue donation, Transplant Québec expressed an urgent need for additional resources to maintain its activities and address the growing challenges in the organ donation and transplantation system. The integration recommended in Bill 7 aims precisely to optimize Héma-Québec’s resources and combine expertise and infrastructure, thereby improving service quality and reducing transplantation delays.

Furthermore, a study by INESSS clearly shows that each transplant—for example, a kidney— generates substantial savings for the health care system by reducing the transplant waiting list and the time spent on hemodialysis. In other words, improving system performance is not only about quality of care: it is also a strategy to reduce long-term costs, ease the anxiety and waiting endured by patients and their families—and ultimately save more lives.

In the end, this is not an accounting reform but a human-centred strategic vision: creating a model in which every dollar invested yields maximum benefit for patients, donors and their families. Because at the heart of this transformation lies a promise: to save more lives and honour every donation.

Héma-Québec’s mission extends far beyond blood. Claiming otherwise reflects a deep misunderstanding of our organization.

Héma-Québec’s mission goes well beyond blood donation: it represents a comprehensive vision of health and human solidarity. Reducing its role to the management of blood donations alone overlooks the breadth and depth of its expertise.

Every day, Héma-Québec works with health care professionals to save lives. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the organization ensures that patients—particularly those with rare diseases—have safe and effective access to the biological products they depend on.

For more than two decades, Héma-Québec has shown its ability to expand its mandate successfully. It integrated the management of human tissue donation in 2001 and, in December 2024, became the sole distributor of these tissues in Québec. It also established the Cord Blood Bank (2004), the Stem Cell Donor Registry (2013) and the Public Breast Milk Bank (2014). Each of these initiatives illustrates unique expertise and a consistent commitment to the health of Quebecers.

Assigning Héma-Québec responsibility for the organ donation and transplantation process is therefore not simply an extension of its role in blood donation: it is a logical and forward-looking decision. Supported by its experience, infrastructure and partnerships, Héma-Québec is ready to combine its strengths with the expertise of Transplant Québec, and to collaborate with the clinical community, patients, donors and their families to build a more integrated, more effective and profoundly human system. Because at the heart of this mission lies a promise: to save more lives, honour every donation, and give every patient a fair chance.

Héma-Québec routinely handles unique, urgent and critical cases—every day.

Far from being an organization limited to the routine management of a stable and predictable inventory, as some have suggested, Héma-Québec operates daily in an environment where speed, precision and adaptability are essential. Saving lives is part of its DNA.

All the characteristics associated with organ donation and transplantation—unique cases, life-or-death emergencies, on-the-ground presence, availability, rapid decision-making—are already central to its expertise. Whether dealing with stem cells, granulocytes or rare blood, Héma-Québec responds to critical needs with complex logistics and extremely tight timelines. Its teams provide essential services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, demonstrating a proven capacity to act in contexts where every minute counts. Héma-Québec can also rely on the expertise of five physicians and a full research and innovation team.

This depth of experience is a strength. It shows that Héma-Québec possesses not only the competencies but also the culture of agility and commitment needed to meet the challenge of organ donation and transplantation. Because beyond the processes, these are human lives—and Héma-Québec understands what that means.

Héma-Québec is far more than an efficient logistical organization: it is a profoundly human-centred institution.

In its brief, Transplant Québec writes: “Héma-Québec, for its part, focuses on integrity, accountability, respect and efficiency—important values, but ones that reflect a more administrative and logistical approach. Even if some values are shared, dismantling the organization could relegate to the background the human and ethical dimensions that are Transplant Québec’s strengths.”

This is false. Given the nature of its activities—rooted in the generosity and commitment of blood, tissue, milk and stem cell donors—Héma-Québec embodies values of solidarity, respect and integrity. Ethics guide its teams every day. Reducing its role to an administrative and technical approach overlooks its core purpose: saving lives through the power of donation.

For more than 27 years, Héma-Québec’s mission has placed it at the heart of some of the most sensitive and meaningful moments of human life. Every product it manages—whether blood, stem cells, cord blood, milk or tissues—carries hope and the promise of life. This mission requires not only scientific expertise and operational rigour, but also a profound understanding of the ethical and human dimensions surrounding every act of donation.

Héma-Québec is an independent non-profit organization.

As a non-profit government corporation, Héma-Québec’s mission is to efficiently meet the needs of the Québec population for blood and other high-quality biological products of human origin. When financial surpluses occur, they are never retained for profit; instead, they are returned to hospitals in the form of credits, in accordance with an agreement with the Ministry of Health and Social Services. This approach reflects a philosophy rooted in social responsibility and transparency.

Héma-Québec is therefore an independent, accountable organization wholly devoted to the health of Quebecers, and every decision it makes is guided by a commitment to honour donor generosity and save lives.