Diabetic patients in need of a kidney-pancreas transplant in the Atlantic provinces of Canada -- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland -- have faced a long trip and an even longer wait since the only program in the eastern part of the country closed earlier this year.

The kidney-pancreas transplant program at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax has been shut down since losing two of its specialists earlier this year, according to the Canadian Broadcasing Company.

While Toronto General Hospital has agreed to accept patients for kidney-pancreas transplants from the Atlantic provinces, officials said the patients will not actually be transplanted until an agreement is reached with their Provincial Organ and Tissue Donation Programs to transfer organs.

"We don't like to think of them as a commodity, but there is a shortage of organs," said Toronto transplant surgeon Gary Levy. "So the process will probably be some sort of a payback."

Other sources: CBC