Skip to main content

Multi-Organ Transplant Program

The Multi-Organ Transplant (MOT) program at BC Children’s Hospital was established in 2009 and is the only transplant program in Canada that provides integrated services to kidney, heart, lung, and liver transplant recipients under one program.
Our program

The MOT program includes a comprehensive interdisciplinary team that strives to provide state-of-the-art care to patients living with a solid organ transplant. We endeavour to promote and improve the quality of life of children and youth living with an organ transplant through excellence in evidence-based clinical care, clinical and basic research, and education and advocacy. This includes: 

  • pre-transplant assessments
  • transplant surgery for kidney and heart transplant recipients
  • post-transplant follow-up care until age 19
  • transition to adult care
  • psychosocial supports

We are committed to enhancing the health and well-being of these children and youth in the MOT program, as well as their families, by providing excellent family-centered clinical care. We seek to rehabilitate children and youth with organ failure after transplantation, including attention to their physical and mental health, and their quality of life.

The MOT program is a training hub for aspiring physicians, surgeons, nursing and allied health professionals seeking to gain special expertise in transplantation care, and these trainees further enhance the quality of care provided under the MOT program. Research is critical to continue improving health and wellness outcomes after organ transplantation, so patients and families are offered different opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research. That includes discovering new ways to preserve graft function, identify and treat rejection earlier and better, addressing barriers to medication adherence, and improving quality of life for children with an organ transplant. Finally, we continue to advocate for organ donation and services that will benefit children and youth with organ failure, in collaboration with community and national partners.


BC Children's Hospital Support Services, has a Sibling Support Centre available for siblings who must be on campus while their brother or sister is in care or receiving care. A first-come, first served booking is required.
Please call 604-875-3594 or book online
Visit Sibling Support Centre webpage more details.

Our team

Blydt-Hansen.jpg

Dr. Tom Blydt-Hansen

Director, Multi Organ Transplant Program

Medical director, Kidney Transplant Service

Tom.BlydtHansen@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Blydt-Hansen is the medical director of the Solid Organ Transplant Program, and clinical director of the Kidney Transplant Service. He provides care to kidney transplant recipients and consultation for children with heart, liver and lung transplants. He has been with the MOT Program since October, 2014.

Dr. Blydt-Hansen's research page


Portrait of Scott Wenderfer

Dr. Scott Wenderfer

Head of pediatric nephrology, Kidney Transplant Service

Scott.wenderfer@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Scott Wenderfer is the head of the division of nephrology at BC Children's Hospital and a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. He has a PhD in molecular immunology from the University of Cincinnati and a research interest in immune-mediated kidney diseases. He joined the MOT Program in 2022. He provides care for patients before and after kidney transplantation.


Dr. Laura Kaufman

Kidney Transplant Service

Laura.Kaufman@cw.bc.ca


Portrait of Mina Matsuda style=

Dr. Mina Matsuda-Abedini

Kidney Transplant Service

mmatsuda@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Mina Matsuda-Abedini is a pediatric nephrologist at BC Children’s Hospital, and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia. She attended medical school at McGill University and completed her specialty training in Pediatrics at Montreal Children’s Hospital. She then completed a fellowship in pediatric nephrology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She was a pediatric nephrologist at BC Children’s Hospital (2005-2012), then at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto for ten years prior to re-joining the Division of Nephrology at BC Children’s Hospital in 2022. Dr. Matsuda-Abedini’s research focuses on improving the care of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney transplant, including successful transition of their care to adult colleagues.


Portrait of Camille Laroche

Dr. Camille Laroche

Kidney Transplant Service

It is with great pleasure that I am joining the MOT team as a post-graduate fellow for the 2023-2024 year. I graduated from the Université de Montréal in pediatric nephrology in 2022 and then completed a one-year research fellowship in renal transplantation at the Institute of Child Health of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, UK. This experience enabled me to network in European and international pediatric transplant working groups. I am pursing a second clinical year of fellowship in pediatric transplantation at BC Children's before joining the Department of Nephrology and the transplantation team at CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, in 2024. Recently, I was elected for the trainee member of the Canadian Society of Transplantation Pediatric Group Executive Committee for the year 2023-2024.

My research interests are wide-ranging. I worked on projects regarding the immune role of lymphatic vessels in kidney rejection, rejection biomarkers and psychosocial barriers to transplant access. I am also interested in infection diseases : I worked to update the protocol for monitoring and treating CMV infection during my training in Montreal and co-lead a research project regarding clinical outcomes of pediatric kidney transplanted patients who had severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. During my time in BC Children's Hospital, I aim to work on biomarkers' projects under Dr Tom Blydt-Hansen.

I am very grateful of occupying the MOT fellow position as it is of great value for me at this stage of my career. I know I will learn a lot and work to consolidate my knowledge. I hope the team will benefit from my background, my collaborative attitude, and my enthusiasm to be involved in innovative projects regarding pediatric transplantation.

 

Portrait of Kathryn Armstrong 

Dr. Kathryn Armstrong

Medical director, Heart Transplant Service

Kathryn.Armstrong@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Armstrong obtained her Bachelor of Science & undergraduate medical degree (MBChB) from the University of Aberdeen in 2002. She has also been recruited to the faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics at UBC, as a pediatric cardiologist specializing in heart function and heart transplant. Dr. Armstrong enjoys teaching and hopes to become a mentor for cardiology fellows. Her academic interests are rooted in the field of autonomic dysfunction and heart transplant.

Dr. Armstrong's research page


Portrait of Derek Human

Dr. Derek Human

Heart Transplant

dhuman@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Human is the former head of the Division of Cardiology at BC Children's Hospital, and a clinical professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia. He remains in active clinical practice and is the past medical director of the heart function and transplantation service, which he has been a part of since 1994.

Dr. Human's research page


Portrait of Sylvie Lebel

Dr. Sylvie Lebel

Medical director, liver transplant and hepatology

sylvie.lebel@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Sylvie Lebel joined the MOT program in November 2021.


Portrait of Orlee Guttman

Dr. Orlee Guttman

Liver transplant

OGuttman@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Guttman is a clinical assistant professor in the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, as well as the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program director. She has been involved in the MOT clinic since 2009, and is involved in the care of patients after liver transplantation.

Portrait of Mark Chilvers

Dr. Mark Chilvers

Lung transplant

MChilvers@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Chilvers is the clinic director for the BC Children's Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Program, respirologist, and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Chilvers works with the Multi Organ Transplant team to provide care and support for pre- and post-lung transplant patients.

Dr. Chilvers' research page


Portrait of Connie Yang

Dr. Connie Yang

Lung transplant

Connie.Yang@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Yang's research page


Portrait of Hana Mitchell

Dr. Hana Mitchell

Transplant infectious disease

Hana.Mitchell@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Mitchell completed her pediatric residency at McMaster University Children's Hospital in 2016 and Pediatrics Infectious Diseases fellowship at BC Children's Hospital in 2018. She is a researcher at the Vaccine Evaluation Centre and has a special interest in preventing infections in children with immune compromise and using research to directly inform and improve patient care. She joined the MOT program in 2020.


Portrait of Estelle Morin

Dr. Estelle Morin

Transplant infectious disease

Estelle.Morin@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Morin trained at McGill University for medical school and completed her general pediatrics and pediatrics infectious diseases residencies in Edmonton. She has an interest in immunocompromised infectious diseases and immunizations. Dr. Morin joined the MOT program July of 2022.

Dr. Andrew MacNeily

Urologist

amacneily@cw.bc.ca

Dr. Kourosh Afshar

Urologist

Kafshar@cw.bc.ca

Dr. John Masterson

Urologist

jmasterson@cw.bc.ca

Portrait of Jessie Ahuja

Jessie Ahuja

Transplant coordinator (BScN, RN)

jahuja@cw.bc.ca

Jessie has been working at BC Children's since 1997 starting in bedside care of medical and surgical patients, and then moving over to ambulatory care positions in gastroenterology and endoscopy. She has been in the role of Transplant Nurse Coordinator since 2007. Jessie assists in the coordination of care for all patients who require solid organ transplant (heart, liver, kidney or lung) in both the pre-transplant phase and the post-transplant phase.


Portrait of Sarah Fay

Sarah Fay

 

Transplant coordinator (BScN, RN)

 

sfay@cw.bc.ca

Sarah has worked at BC Children's Hospital in various nursing roles since 2006, before joining the Multi Organ Transplant Team as one of the transplant nurse coordinators in 2016. Sarah assists in the overall coordination of care of solid organ transplant (heart, kidney, liver and lung) patients and their families.


Portrait of Marijana Kraljevic

Marijana Kraljevic

Transplant coordinator (BScN, RN, MSN)

MKraljevic@cw.bc.ca

Marijana has been working at BC Children's hospital since 1999. She has worked in various capacities in Cardiology and Medical programs, including bedside nursing, Clinical Nurse leader roles, and as a UBC Clinical Instructor.

She has been working in the Multi Organ Transplant program since 2015 and began a permanent position in 2022.

Marijana assists in the coordination of care for all patients who require solid organ transplant (heart, liver, kidney or lung) and their families.


Portrait of Katie Haubrich

Dr. Katie Haubrich

Pharmacist (BSc Pharm, PharmD)

Kathryn.Haubrich@cw.bc.ca

In her role as the clinical pharmacy specialist for nephrology and solid organ transplant, Katie cares for children with chronic kidney disease, and those with kidney, liver, heart and lung transplants to optimize medication therapy, and educate patients and their families about their medications. Her current research areas include immunosuppressant pharmacokinetics (how your body deals with the immune-suppressing drugs you need after a transplant) and monitoring for adverse effects of medications in transplant recipients. She is also a clinical instructor at the University of British Columbia and mentors students and pharmacy residents training in hospital clinical practice. She completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees at the University of Alberta, and has been with BC Children's Hospital since 2014, and in her current role with the MOT team since 2016.


Portrait of Anisha Varghese

Dr. Anisha Varghese

Psychologist (PhD, R Psych)

Dr. Anisha Varghese is a registered psychologist who completed her doctoral training in clinical psychology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Since moving to Vancouver for her residency training at BC Children’s Hospital, she has worked at a number of clinics and areas, which has included developmental disabilities (Sunny Hill Health Centre, Complex Developmental and Behaviour Conditions Program), mental health, and medical psychology. Dr. Varghese has a particular passion for medical psychology. She enjoys working alongside youth with a wide array of chronic health conditions and their families in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She uses evidence-based strategies (cognitive behavioural, emotion focused, acceptance and commitment) to help build upon inherent strengths and resiliencies.


Portrait of Natalie Sousa

Natalie Sousa

Dietitian (RD)

Natalie.Sousa@cw.bc.ca

Natalie is a registered dietitian who has been working within various areas of pediatrics at BC Children's Hospital. Natalie joined the MOT team in February 2022 and is excited to be working with the team. Her role within the team is to develop nutrition care plans that meet the nutritional, medical and cultural needs of the patient and family during all stages of the transplant process. She is passionate about working with children and their families to optimize growth, improve nutrition status and provide education on healthy lifestyle choices.


Portrait of Kat Broad

Kat Broad

Social worker (MSW, RSW)

katherine.broad@cw.bc.ca

Kat has been a social worker in pediatrics for the past 8 years covering a variety of clinical areas from the ICU to acquired brain injury and general pediatrics. With a Masters in Social Work from Flinders University, she has experience both here in Canada and her home country of Australia, and is an enthusiastic and devoted member of the team. Kat has specialised interest in trauma-informed practice, attachment and child development, and works hard to meet all her patients and families exactly where they are at in their transplant journey. When she's not working, you'll find Kat skyping her family back home, hiking, camping or running a marathon.


Portrair of Rita Marchildon

Rita Marchildon

Child life therapist (BA, CCLS)

rmarchildon@cw.bc.ca

Rita has been a child life specialist at BC Children's Hospital since 1989, and is certified with the Association of Child Life Professionals. She has been a part of the MOT program since 2015, and has often worked with families in the Renal Dialysis Unit.


Child life specialists promote effective coping with health care experiences through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children and youth facing a broad range of challenging experiences. Working collaboratively with the health care team, child life specialists address the psychosocial and emotional needs to make hospital experiences more positive for patients and their families.


Portrair of Julie Fairbairn

Julie Fairbairn

Physiotherapist (PT)

jfairbairn@cw.bc.ca

Julie has worked at BC Children's Hospital since 2005. She works in a variety of clinical areas and joined the MOT team in 2015. Physiotherapists work with children and their families in hospital after transplant to facilitate and support early mobilisation. Julie assists in the rehab process by collaborating with the MOT team, patient and family to set individual goals that support motor development, physical activity, exercise and participation.

Portrait of Monica Ho

Monica Ho

Research Coordinator

sotresearch@bcchr.ca

Monica is a biology graduate from UBC and joined the Blydt-Hansen research team as a research coordinator in June 2021. She provides general administrative oversight in the lab and works on multiple projects. A few studies that she is currently involved with include ACCENT, HOPE SOT and some upcoming trials.


Portrait of Mike Guron

Mike Guron

Research Assistant

Mike.Guron@bcchr.ca

Mike is a biochemistry graduate from UBC and joined the Blydt-Hansen research team as a Research Assistant in July 2018. He is working on multiple projects focused on chronic kidney disease and renal transplants. A few of the studies he is currently involved with include CKiD, PROBE, SOT biobank, HOPE SOT, and NAPRTCS.


Portrair of Linda Li

Linda Li

Research Assistant

Linda.Li@bcchr.ca

Linda joined the Blydt-Hansen research team in October 2021. She works on multiple studies focused on chronic kidney disease and multi-organ transplants, including CKiD, FIT4KID and SOT Biobank.


Thachil, Amy.jpg

Amy Thachil

Research Assistant

amy.thachil@bcchr.ca

Amy completed her Master's degree in Experimental Medicine at UBC. She joined the Blydt-Hansen research team as a Research Assistant in November 2023. She is primarily involved in transplant-focused research, including HOPE SOT, Biobank, and NAPRTCS studies. 

Portrait of Lani Coloma

Lani Coloma

Nursing unit clerk, pre-transplant

Lani.Coloma@cw.bc.ca

Portrait of Miranda Lloyd-Kafka

Miranda Lloyd-Kafka

Administrative & data entry clerk

MOTadmin@cw.bc.ca

Portrait of Ivy Leong Liu

Ivy Leong Liu

Booking & data entry clerk, post-transplant

MOTclinic@cw.bc.ca

Inocencio, Eliza.jpg

Eliza Inocencio

Support Float Clerk

ma.inocencio@cw.bc.ca


Follow Up

We follow most patients every 3 to 6 months in the clinic (children under 6 every 3 months), depending on your child's age, how far away you live, and your doctor's wishes. We will arrange a follow-up visit with you before you leave. 

If needed, proceed to the outpatient pharmacy located on the ground floor of the Ambulatory Care Building to pick up your medications. Please remember to order your medications 1-2 weeks before coming to your transplant clinic appointment.


Tab Heading
SOURCE: Multi-Organ Transplant Program ( )
Page printed: . Unofficial document if printed. Please refer to SOURCE for latest information.

Copyright © BC Children's Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

    Copyright © 2024 Provincial Health Services Authority.