by Frank Bergman
Canada’s controversial assisted-suicide program is moving into even darker territory as the nation accelerates its practice of harvesting organs from euthanasia victims.
The state-sanctioned practice, called “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD), has already claimed tens of thousands of lives since 2016, and is now fueling a growing supply of donor organs.
Ethicists are warning that the system risks pressuring vulnerable people into death for the benefit of healthier recipients.
As the Canadian government continues to expand its euthanasia regime, the MAiD program is generating a surge in the organ donation supply chain.
A Chilling First
The National Post reported that the heart of a 38-year-old Canadian man euthanised under MAiD was successfully harvested and transplanted into a 59-year-old American man with heart failure.
The case was the first known heart transplant following a state-administered lethal injection.
A report by The University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre and The Ottawa Hospital documented the procedure:
“Here we report the first case of successful cardiac transplantation after MAiD,” the medical team wrote.
“Provision of MAiD and death determination occurred in keeping with Canadian standards.
“Death was declared within seven minutes of initiating the MAiD protocol.”
The donor, who suffered from ALS, had volunteered to donate his organs.
Doctors removed the heart, attached it to a machine that “reanimates” or restarts the heart to keep blood flowing, and then sent it to Pittsburgh for the transplant.
A ‘World Leader’ in Organ Donation After Euthanasia
This was no isolated case, however.
Although this was the first heart transplant, there have already been numerous liver, kidney, and lung transplants from euthanised patients.
According to federal data, “at least 155 people in Canada have donated their organs and tissues after receiving a doctor-administered lethal injection” since 2016.
Canada has already become a “world leader” in organ donation after euthanasia (ODE).
A Dutch study showed that of 286 ODE cases up to 2021, 136 were Canadian.
According to CIHI data, 235 people have “consented” to organ donation after being euthanised, and 5 percent of all organ transplants in 2024 used organs from euthanised Canadians.