Lakeridge Health Leads Ontario’s Community Hospitals in Life-Saving Organ and Tissue Donations
(Durham Region) – JANUARY 7, 2026 – Lakeridge Health is proud to be one of Ontario’s leading community hospital systems for organ and tissue donation, setting the standard for compassionate, life-saving care through the extraordinary efforts of its Critical Care teams.
A Critical Care Unit is a special hospital area where very sick patients receive constant care and monitoring, with specially trained clinical teams working together to keep them stable and help them recover. Driven by the compassion and expertise of its Critical Care teams, Lakeridge Health helped turn loss into life in 2024/2025: Through 10 organ donors - five from Ajax Pickering Hospital’s Critical Care Unit (CCU) and five from Oshawa’s CCU - 30 organs were transplanted, saving 23 lives across Ontario.
“What our Critical Care teams do every day is nothing short of remarkable,” said Dr. Karim Soliman, Chief, Critical Care, Lakeridge Health. “In moments defined by grief and uncertainty, it’s the compassion and generosity of families that guide us as they choose to save lives, even while facing profound loss. Because of these families, and the humanity, courage and clinical excellence of our Critical Care and Surgical Teams, lives are saved. Lakeridge Health has become a leader, among community hospitals in organ donation.”
Lakeridge Health also achieved a 100 per cent Eligible Approach Rate, exceeding the provincial target of 90 per cent. This means that every eligible patient in Lakeridge Health’s CCU was compassionately offered the opportunity to consider donation. It is a milestone that Lakeridge Health has reached for five consecutive years.
This achievement reflects a deeply collaborative approach to care, one that places families at the centre of every conversation.
“Organ donation is not a single decision or moment, it’s a shared journey,” said Eric LeBlanc, Interim Director, Critical Care, Lakeridge Health. “Our teams work alongside families and caregivers as true partners in care, ensuring every conversation is respectful, informed, and compassionate. That holistic approach is what makes these outcomes possible.”
As a result of this sustained excellence, Lakeridge Health received two prestigious honours from Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) as part of the 2024/2025 Hospital Achievement Awards:
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Provincial Eligible Approach Rate Award for achieving a 100 per cent approach rate
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Award of Excellence for meeting or exceeding provincial targets for four or more consecutive years (received for the second year in a row)
These awards are directly tied to Critical Care-led organ donation practices and reflect Lakeridge Health’s commitment to ensuring every eligible family is given the opportunity to donate.
A Secondary but Powerful Legacy: Tissue Donation
In addition to organ donation success, Lakeridge Health supported 105 tissue donors, enhancing the lives of countless Ontarians. The organization continues to lead the province in eye donation, with nearly 800 people potentially regaining sight this year alone.
Tissue donation highlights include:
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Ajax Pickering Hospital: 17 donors (5 Emergency Department (ED), 7 In-patient, 5 CCU)
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Port Perry Hospital: 5 donors (3 ED, 2 In-patient)
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Bowmanville Hospital: 13 donors (2 ED, 11 In-patient)
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Oshawa Hospital: 70 donors (21 CCU, 44 In-patient, 5 ED)
Through leadership, compassion, and unwavering dedication, especially within its Critical Care Units, Lakeridge Health is transforming loss into legacy and hope into healing, setting the benchmark for organ and tissue donation across Ontario.
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About Lakeridge Health
Lakeridge Health is one of Ontario’s most comprehensive health systems, with five hospitals, four emergency departments, three critical care units, a long-term care home, a state-of-the-art, community-based surgical centre, and more than 30 community-based locations delivering acute, ambulatory, and long-term care. We are home to leading regional programs in cancer care, chronic kidney disease services, and critical care. In addition, we offer specialty services such as a Level 3 Trauma Centre, The Shoulder Centre, thoracic surgery, gynecology oncology, eye care, and a full continuum of mental health and addictions care. Through transformative research, dynamic academic partnerships, and over 160 active clinical studies, we are advancing medical knowledge and training the next generation of providers through the Queen’s–Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program and the LHEARN Network. Supported by nearly 9,000 staff, physicians, and volunteers, and working in collaboration with the Durham Ontario Health Team and community partners, we are committed to building an integrated system of care and empowering people across Durham Region to live their best health.
For more information, please contact:
Strategic Communications
Communications@lh.ca
