As written in the Toronto Star on Jan. 2, 2003.
Closed records end up costing health system
Canada facing a pivotal year
Editorial, Dec. 29.
As health care is a top priority and money is important to it, there is one way that costs can be reduced for this system. Open all adoption records and let adoptees have their medical histories.
This would drastically reduce the costs to the health-care system by reducing the huge numbers of unnecessary tests and procedures done to thousands of adoptees every year as doctors struggle to find out what ails them.
More often than not, it is usually something hereditary, but without a family medical history, doctors have to work blind in trying to find out the problem. Most of the time, government authorities and adoption agencies will not pass the information on - especially for older adoptees. This information was often withheld so that adoptive parents would not return a sick infant to the Children's Aid Society.
One typical example of this is an adoptee who was very ill but the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. She was forced to endure six abdominal operations. To cut a long story short, she found out that she had a rare fatal hereditary kidney disease. She also found out that the six operations that she had were unnecessary. All she had needed was one scan and a blood test.
Multiply this situation thousands of times. It does not take a genius to work out that this takes a great deal of time and money out of the system needlessly. It also adds to the suffering of the adoptee and his or her family.
Open all records now, so that adoptees can find out what is wrong with them straight away and save millions for the health-care system, as well as saving doctors time.
Sent in by,
Cathy Henderson,
Bedfordshire, U.K.
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On May 21, 2002 at Queen's Park COAR and Marilyn Churley sponsored a reception titled:
"The Adoption Community Responds to the Genetic Revolution"
Main speaker: Dr. Philip Wyatt, Chief of Genetics - North York General Hospital Dr. Wyatt said that at least once a month patients who are adoptees come to his office seeking genetic counselling. Sadly he usually can't help them as well as he might because they don't have their family medical history. The reception was also attended by Dr. David Chittayat, a geneticist at Mt. Sinai Hospital who supports Bill 77. He said, "It's so obvious why this bill should be supported."
These leading geneticists know that adopted people without access to their medical histories are at risk of inheriting up to 3000 diseases - diseases such as cancer, heart disease and many more! Sealed records can and do kill people.
Many MPPs - Conservatives, Liberals and NDP lined up to express their support of Bill 77! The adoption community came out as well and packed the large room.
Everyone made it clear that Bill 77 must come to third reading!
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