The gift of life: From 1 month to live to a lifetime of impact<\/p>\n
Published 6:00 pm Sunday, May 10, 2026<\/p>\n
How Surrey resident Debra Orpana\u2019s legacy gift to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation will save lives for generations<\/p>\n
A surgeon thought Debra Orpana had one month to live. Her kidneys were failing, and she needed a pancreas transplant because of severe Type 1 diabetes. She was frightened. She could barely walk up the steps to her home. Then one call changed everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Debra\u2019s care team at Vancouver General Hospital had a kidney and pancreas for her. She received a life-saving organ transplant in 2002 through VGH,\u00a0the only hospital in British Columbia that performs a kidney-pancreas transplant. This year, she celebrates 24 years since her transplant.<\/p>\n
Since then, she\u2019s travelled the world and seen places she never thought she would see. Debra received what she calls, \u201cthe gift of life.\u201d Now she\u2019s leaving a gift in her will to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation<\/a> to support healthier communities for generations.<\/p>\n Turning gratitude into lasting impact<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here without VGH,\u201d says Debra. \u201cI owe it to VGH. To the care that I\u2019ve had here and hopefully it will help other people with the illnesses they\u2019re going through.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s lived in Surrey for 30 years, but when she suffered a stroke, she insisted on going to VGH for the world-class care team she calls her \u201cA-team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was only one surgeon in the whole province who was actually doing a pancreatic transplant, and he was here at VGH, so it\u2019s definitely a hospital for everybody in B.C.,\u201d says Debra.<\/p>\n VGH treats some of the most complex cases in B.C.. Nearly half of its patients come from outside Metro Vancouver, seeking advanced care they can\u2019t get anywhere else. It\u2019s this specialized care that Debra and her husband, Ken, are supporting through their legacy gift to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n What Debra\u2019s legacy gift will make possible<\/p>\n Debra and Ken hope their legacy gift will drive groundbreaking research and advance areas like cardiology, organ donation and transplant research.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their hope is already becoming reality.<\/p>\n Their gift to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation will support innovative transplantation research, improving outcomes for organ recipients across B.C. More than 6,500 people in the province are alive today because of an organ transplant, including 117 children \u2014 lives made possible through continued research, care and innovation.<\/p>\n Debra and Ken have also allocated part of their gift to support the cardiology team at VGH. Last year, the Dilawri Foundation made a record $60-million gift to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation<\/a> to establish Dilawri Cardiovascular Institute (DCI) on the VGH campus. Their goal: to build a national cardiovascular hub and one of the world\u2019s leading cardiovascular institutes.<\/p>\n Heart disease remains the second leading cause of death in Canada. The DCI is focused on using new technology and discoveries to improve access to care, shorten wait times, and, ultimately, save more lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Debra hopes her legacy gift will help fuel that vision \u2013 ensuring everyone in B.C. gets the care they need, when they need it most. Leaving a gift in your will is simple and makes a lasting impact<\/p>\n Debra says VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation makes leaving a legacy gift easy. Debra\u2019s life was saved through world-class care. Now her generosity will save others. You can leave that kind of legacy, too. There are different ways to give, like leaving a gift in your will, or leaving a gift of securities, life insurance or registered funds. It\u2019s simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n Call Associate Director of Legacy Giving, Lisa Shearer at 604-290-1455<\/a> or email her: lisa.shearer@vghfoundation.ca.<\/a><\/p>\n
Just like she did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful thing to be able to do,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd there are so many people that will benefit from it. It\u2019s very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n