Reema Garcha is the newest member of the TRF team, having recently joined the board of directors. As a living kidney donor to her sister Binn, Reema knows firsthand that the best gift to give is the gift of life through organ donation. For National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week (NOTDAW), Reema is sharing...
The transplanting of an organ is a complex undertaking, where the generous and selfless decision of one individual and family has the potential to transform the life of another person through the gift of donation. For 21-year-old Naomi Lee, a recent lifesaving heart transplant not only ended her struggle with end-stage heart failure, but it...
Cindy Luo is passionate about seeking answers that help improve the transplant experience for patients in the transplant program at Vancouver General Hospital. As a past Research Challenge winner for her project on anti-fungal prophylactic use in lung recipients and her most recent Team Grant project that explores a more personalized approach to medication, Cindy...
Forever my Hero While the world was grappling with a new and virulent virus, Dakota Meredith was facing her own battle. Diagnosed with colitis when she was just a young child, Dakota later developed autoimmune hepatitis. Eventually, this condition evolved into primary sclerosis cholangitis. Dr. Eric Yoshida at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) was instrumental in...
Music with Heart Catching up with Ashley Wey Last August, award-winning singer-songwriter Ashley Wey hosted a benefit concert in Victoria to spread awareness for organ donation and transplantation. This in-person and live-streamed event was well received by the community, with hundreds of dollars being raised to support organ donation and transplant research at TRF. For...
By Kennedie and Mikaela Maidment In the spirit of Father’s Day, we are delighted to have Kennedie and Mikaela Maidment serve as guest writers for our June blog! It is often said that the impact of organ donation extends far beyond the donor and recipient. For the Maidment sisters, whose dad underwent a liver transplant,...
On May 8, my curious, caring and happy daughter Addison will be celebrating a milestone I honestly wasn’t sure she – and we – would ever see: 10 years with her gifted heart. That’s 10 years of life, 10 years of growing, 10 years of learning new things, 10 years of loving and being loved....
Optimism and drive are two things Paul Albrighton has in abundance. A successful real estate agent for Remax Crest Realty in Vancouver, Paul has worked hard to become one of the top realtors in Vancouver, achieving MLS Medallion status for the last twelve years. He is also the father of a beautiful five-year-old daughter. However,...
In the spirit of heart month we celebrate the journey of heart transplant recipient, Rob Williamson. With twenty-eight years of life thanks to his transplanted heart, Rob shares how he’s witness transplant medicine evolve over the last two decades. What has your transplant meant to you? Quite simply, it has given me my life back....
In the months since COVID-19 became part of our daily vocabulary, transplant recipients, along with their families and caregivers, have been forced to navigate many unknowns that come along with the emergence of a new and virulent virus. With so little known about the virus, particularly in the early days, the adjustment for recipients and...