The number of organ donors who died from drug poisonings is increasing in Alberta as toxic supply increases fatalities and emergency calls.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) data shows the last three years have seen a noticeable spike as far as donors are concerned.
In 2022, 34 of the 97 deceased donors – 35 per cent – died from drug poisonings. That's up from 2019, when the number was only nine of 69 donors – or 13 per cent.
The increase coincides with a higher overall total for organ donations.
"The gift of organ donation, regardless of the cause of death, saves lives and significantly improves the quality of life for many Albertans," AHS told CTV News in a statement.
Zoe Welz lost her life to a poisoned supply when she was just 18.
Seven years later, her mother is advocating for change.
"She died a very preventable death," Angela Welz said. "If she had had a safe supply of drugs that she was using, or at least was able to know what was within the drugs that she was using, she would've been able to dose properly and not die."
But that's not what happened.
Zoe was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition after using drugs, and died shortly after.
Her family made the decision to help others by donating Zoe's heart, lungs, liver, kidney and pancreas.
"It's really complicated to reconcile the fact that my daughter was able to save so many lives," Welz said. "It's not a choice anyone should have to make without (the deceased) being involved."
Friday will mark what would have been a milestone for Zoe. Her family will be spending the day remembering what made their daughter and sister so special.
"She loved the beach. She loved traveling. She had an amazing laugh. (Friday) is her 25th birthday, and she should be here with us."
The most up-to-date provincial data shows 613 families lost a loved one to toxic drug poisoning in the first four months of this year. That's up about six per cent from 2022.
April was the deadliest month on record since tracking began in 2016.
And this week, Alberta set yet another new record for drug-poisoning-related EMS dispatches. It's the third week running the leading mark has been exceeded.
The minister of mental health and addictions sent a statement saying his "government is deeply concerned about the impact addiction is having on our communities here in Alberta and across all of Canada. That is why we provide a wide range of supports that are focussed on helping people to pursue recovery from the deadly disease of addiction."
The province's approach to the crisis has largely been panned by experts in the field.
Euan Thomson, who has been advocating for a safe supply in Alberta for years, is less than impressed with what he believes to be an ideologically-based conservative method to the crisis.
"There's not really any evidence to suggest that this recovery approach is going to have any impact on what is fundamentally a drug supply toxicity issue," he said.
"Most people aren't dying from addiction, they're dying from not knowing the strength and composition of their drugs. So that's where we need to be targeting our efforts. Having treatment centres coming online in five or six years is not going to help the people who are dying of drug toxicity today."
Petra Schulz, one of the founding directors of Moms Stop The Harm, says the government needs to change its approach to address the rising numbers.
"Without harm reduction measures to keep people alive and well, people don’t live long enough to make it to recovery," Schulz told CTV News Edmonton. "During (the provincial government's) first mandate, they announced 11 (new treatment facilities). They opened one."
On Thursday, the opposition NDP wrote a letter to the Auditor General asking for a policy review and rethink.
"We urge you to consider a performance audit of the Government of Alberta's response to the drug poisoning crisis over the past four years," its letter read.
A spokesperson says the government's priority is "establishing a recovery-oriented system of care that provides treatment for any Albertans that need it."
While the government has been clear it does not support safe supply, the spokesperson who reached out to CTV Calgary says the government does "continue to support harm reduction through supervised consumption sites, an online tool called the Digital Overdose Response System and the availability of naloxone kits."
