Most Quebecers in need of an organ donation are waiting for kidneys.
At the end of 2016, 565 of the 841 on the organ donor waitlist needed an extra bean-shaped organ.
Most people have two working kidneys, which are about the size of a fist. The organs filter waste from blood to make urine.
It's harder to find an exact match for kidney donations, according to Dr Prosanto Chaudhury, a transplant surgeon with Transplant Québec. Renal disease and failure are common, but there's also a backup plan of sorts: dialysis for people whose kidneys are not working, While live donation rates in Quebec are lower than in the rest of Canada, he says it's because there is a higher rate of deceased donors in the province.
Still, living donors maches do happen.
Sophie Post-Croteau, a 28-year-old Montrealer, is about to donate a kidney to a close friend who lives in Ottawa (in time for National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week). Her recipient has polycystic kidney disease and requires dialysis three times a week. Post-Croteau's operation will take three to four hours, and she will need bed rest for two weeks.
"I'm just really happy that I get to save someone's life," Post-Croteau explained. "I never really had a moment where I was like, 'Should I do this or not?' It was just right away - when I heard he needed one, I took this decision."
'It's a real expression of generosity, to do that. And it's a lifesaving gift,' said Dr Chaudhury.
But the wait for a match can be excruciatingly long if a donor is not found.
A Laval man named Ian Enkin has been waiting 12 years for a replacement.
"It's actually frustrating because it takes so long," he explained. "[You get] sicker because you're on dialysis to stay alive."
Enkin did receive a kidney a few years ago, but the transplant was a bust when it was discovered that his new organ had cancer. Enkin's body also needs a donor with matching antibodies. He is broadening his seach by trying to get on the waiting in the United States. Enkin is seeking community support for this search with a GoFundMe fundaiser.
Dr Chaudhury pointed out that there is a program for paired living donors in Canada, operated by Canadian Blood Services, which pairs incompatible living donors and recipients with other pairs of people who might be compatible.