Two-time kidney transplant recipient, Mark Fairey with wife Erika, opens up about what it means to receive two lifesaving organ transplants. In late November 2018, my wife Erika and I made our way up to the sixth floor post-transplant clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital. After locating a pair of seats together, I noticed the assemblage...
Clare Bannon is the Clinical Nurse Leader of the kidney transplant program at Province Health Care. She is the recipient of the TRF funded 2019 Research Challenge award and has been a co-investigator on various other TRF funded micro grants. What is your connection to transplant? My whole nursing career has been in the transplant...
COVID-19 and Transplantation: Finding Answers Through Research with Dr. James Lan As more becomes known about COVID-19, the need for knowledge specific to transplant recipients becomes increasingly important, especially given their unique immunosuppressed state. In British Columbia alone, more than 5,200 solid organ transplant recipients are living through the pandemic and navigating life in the...
Recently, we had the opportunity to interview kidney transplant recipient and patient advocate, Bet Tuason. Bet’s powerful voice brings awareness to the issues affecting individuals living with complex chronic health needs. Using his diverse experience as a transplant recipient and kidney patient, Bet works tirelessly to empower his community through advocacy, partnership, and volunteer activities....
With each breath, Miranda Frigon effortlessly feels her ribs expand as air enters her healthy new lungs. This is actually, her third set of lungs, so the act of breathing – something most people take for granted – is significant for Miranda. It renews her hope for the future and is a reminder that her...
Living with kidney disease hasn’t been easy, but Sandy and her boys have risen to the challenge. Like most mothers, Sandy Fairey, would go to the ends of the earth for her children’s health and happiness. Upon learning two of her three sons had Alport syndrome, a condition characterized by kidney disease, hearing loss and...
Christine Kapeluck For Christine Kapeluck, transplantation has been truly transformative. At just 18 months old, she was diagnosed with Wilms tumour, a type of kidney cancer that, despite its rareness, is also highly treatable if caught early. Luckily for Christine, removal of the affected kidney rendered her cancer free and she went on to live...
It has been an exciting and invigorating year at the Transplant Research Foundation of BC (TRF). Our research portfolio continues to evolve as our partnerships become stronger, allowing for more diversity in the research we fund. 2019 was a robust year for our foundation, awarding $102,500 in direct research dollars to BC based scientists and...
Searching for Answers Early one spring morning in 1982, Earl Howell woke feeling unwell, with the whites of his eyes transformed into the color of lemons. A trip to the doctor gave an initial diagnosis of hepatitis, which proved incorrect and set Earl and his family on a tumultuous journey to find answers. Endless tests,...