Collective intelligence to solve complex health challenges facing Indigenous peoples: organ donation and transplantation

Abstract

The First Nations and Métis Organ Donation and Transplantation Network (the Network) facilitates Indigenous-driven, culturally-informed, and safe research, policies, education, and advocacy regarding organ donation and transplantation through the building of collective intelligence among Indigenous peoples in Canada. The Network’s think tank comprises Indigenous Elders, thought leaders, and persons with lived experiences of organ donation—living donors and organ recipients—as well as healthcare professionals, outreach workers, and university-based researchers. The Network responds to the failure of governmental institutions to reduce health disparities facing Indigenous peoples, and the dispersal of Indigenous collective intelligence caused by changing federal or provincial and territorial leadership and priorities. The collective intelligence of Indigenous peoples regarding end-stage organ failure and organ donation and transplantation is central to improving patient experiences, increasing the number of Indigenous organ donors and recipients, and finding pathways for advancing healthcare reforms that prevent and treat end-stage organ failure.