Once viewed as a last resort for individuals living with organ failure, transplantation is rapidly becoming the preferred treatment of choice for a variety of diseases. There has been a transformational shift in thinking about what constitutes post-transplant success with more attention than ever being given to quality of life. Dr. Tom Blydt-Hansen knows transplantation...
It is often said if you want an honest appraisal of a situation, ask a child. You are likely to receive an answer that does not underscore nor overstate reality. For eight-year-old liver transplant recipient Ian Sewell, this is especially accurate, “Transplant lets you be with your family. It is hard sometimes and hurts sometimes....
With a movement towards greater patient engagement in Canadian research, it has become even more important to involve our transplant community in the research we fund. One key way we endeavour to do this is by sharing updates on our funded projects with our community at our annual Celebrate Transplant Research event. This September marked...
The leaves are changing colour, kids are back to school and everyone has a pumpkin spice latte in hand. It is that unmistakable time of year – fall has arrived. At TRF we are taking a moment to reflect on the exciting and productive spring and summer we have had on the research front and...
When the Canadian Transplant Games were in Vancouver this July, transplant recipients from all over Canada came to participate. Everyone had their own reason for attending but the gratitude for a second chance at life was clearly shared by everyone in attendance. This gratitude was multidimensional. Caregivers and supporters came to cheer on their loved...
She may not have a cape or be able to fly, but Lindsay Ma’s superpower is being able to survive and persevere through unimaginable adversity. At just 21 years old, Lindsay was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart muscle thickens. Over the next seven years Lindsay required three different defibrillators, a small...
“We called him DJ V or Master Chef Viraj” recalls Dheran Shahi of his younger brother Viraj, who died waiting for a double lung and kidney transplant. “He was truly the best brother anyone could ask for. I was lucky he was mine” Dheran says sadly. The loss of his brother has had a significant...
What do purebred cattle, cross-country travel and nine grandchildren have in common? They are all part of Katrine and Ed Conroy’s unique love story. In the 37 years that Katrine and Ed have been married, they have weathered more adversity than most couples endure in a lifetime. Ed’s complicated health history began in 1991 when...