08/25/2026
As BC Transplant celebrates 40 years, we’re looking back at the people who helped build the organ donation and transplantation system we have today.
One of those people is nephrologist Dr. David Landsberg.
In 1986—the same year BC Transplant was launched—Dr. Landsberg was recruited to start the kidney transplant program at St. Paul’s Hospital. At the time, living donor kidney transplantation wasn’t yet available in BC, and the province was performing only a few dozen kidney transplants each year at Vancouver General Hospital.
Nearly 50 years later, Dr. Landsberg just retired after a career that has witnessed—and helped drive—an extraordinary transformation in kidney transplantation.
Today, more than 8,200 kidney transplants have been performed in BC.
But for Dr. Landsberg, the most meaningful measure of his career isn't a number. It’s the patients.
He tells the story of one woman from BC he first cared for when she travelled to Toronto for a living donor kidney transplant. Years later, she transferred her care to St. Paul’s when Dr. Landsberg moved to Vancouver. Nearly 50 years later, he has also cared for two of her children, who received kidney transplants.
“I’ve cared for this family for almost 50 years.”
As part of our 40th anniversary celebration, we’re sharing Dr. Landsberg’s story—and reflecting on the people and milestones that have shaped BC Transplant over the past four decades.
Read the story: https://ow.ly/iTPt50ZFqhW
Providence Health Care
