Event Co-Chairs Joanne Kearney and Brendan Cahill hosted more than 300 guests at the Four Seasons Hotel, enjoying delicious food and drink with a side of world-leading innovation. Guests were amazed with holographic centerpieces and an immersive surgical VR experience. The evening also premiered a mini-documentary from award-winning Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich about some of the incredible patients, clinicians and researchers of UHN’s Transplant Program.
Honorary Co-Chairs of the event were Sandra Faire, Ivan Fecan and Brian Porter. Speakers including UHN President and CEO Dr. Kevin Smith, and UHN Board of Trustees Chair and Scotiabank President and CEO Brian Porter, detailed the important successes and life-saving breakthroughs being made in transplantation care and research at TGH.
Drs. Mitesh Badiwala and Phyllis Billia show off the Ex Vivo Heart Perfusion System to Co-Chairs Joanne Kearney and Brendan Cahill.
“Tonight is possible because of the generosity of all our sponsors and the enthusiasm of all our guests,” say Kearney and Cahill. “We are tremendously grateful for your support as we champion the most successful transplant program in North America at one of the very best hospitals in the world.”
The night’s pièce de résistance was an incredible live demonstration of the Ex Vivo Heart Perfusion System. This revolutionary Toronto procedure preserves the donor heart in a warm, beating state by pumping a bloodless solution full of oxygen, proteins and nutrients before transplanting into the recipient. The clinical use of this technique will expand the donor pool and improve success rates after transplantation.
Toronto General Hospital was recently named one of the top 10 hospitals in the world, and the number one hospital in Canada by Newsweek magazine. The Transplant Program’s scale and success in leading transplantation care and research were cited as large contributors to this ranking.