Living Donation Advisory Committee (LDAC)

The Living Donation Advisory Committee (LDAC) provides expert advice for advancement and implementation of national initiatives in partnership with Canadian Blood Services on issues relating to the donation and transplantation of organs from living donors to recipients.

Living Donation Advisory Committee Members

Dr. Christine Dipchand (Chair), Medical Director, Living Kidney Donation program, Multi-Organ Transplant Program, NSHA - QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Dr. Anand Ghanekar (Vice-Chair), Surgeon, Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto Multi-Organ Transplant Program, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. M. Khaled Shamseddin, (KTAC Chair Representative), Director, Kidney Transplant Program, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario

Dr. Justin Gill, Transplant Nephrologist, Kidney Transplant Program, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Olwyn Johnston, Medical Director Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Vancouver General Hospital Transplant Nephrologist Gordon and Leslie Diamond Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Serdar Yilmaz, Transplant Surgeon, AHS - Foothills Medical, Medical Director, Southern Alberta Transplant Program Calgary, Alberta

Dr. Sita Gourishankar, Associate Professor (with tenure), Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program, Director of Kidney Transplant Fellowship Training Program, Acting Medical Director, Kidney Transplant Program Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, University of Alberta

Dr. Abubaker Hassan, Nephrologist, Saskatchewan Transplant Program, SHR - St. Paul’s Hospital, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Dr. Leroy Storsley, Nephrologist, Kidney Transplant Program, Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Dr. Dervla Connaughton, Director of Living Kidney Donation, Nephrology Department, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, 

Dr. Seychelle Yohanna, Associate Professor, Nephrologist, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario

TBD, Renal Transplant Program, Unity Health Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Sunita Singh, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto Medical Director, Living Kidney Donation Program Transplant Nephrologist, Kidney Transplant Program Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Suzon Collette, Director, Renal Transplantation Program, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec

Dr. Marie-Chantal Fortin, Principal Scientist Division of Nephrology, CHUM – Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec

Dr. Michel Pâquet, Medical Advisor, Transplantation, Canadian Blood Services, Director, Kidney Transplant Program, CHUM - Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal Montreal, Quebec

Dre Alexandra Viau-Trudel, Nephrologist, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sherbrooke, Hospitalier de l’Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec

Dr. Julie Lesage, Nephrologist, CHU de Québec - Pavillon Hôtel-Dieu de Québec Quebec, Quebec

Dr. Christine Pippy, Nephrologist, Saint John Regional Hospital, Saint John, New Brunswick

Dr. Pamela Pike, Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology), Discipline of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES REPRESENTATION

Peggy John | Director, Organ & Tissue Donation & Transplantation, Canadian Blood Services, Vancouver, British Columbia

Machivei Danha | Associate Director, Interprovincial Organ Sharing, Organ & Tissue Donation & Transplantation, Canadian Blood Services, Toronto, Ontario

Kathy Yetzer | Senior Advisor & Program Lead, Canadian Blood Services, Edmonton, Alberta

Natacha Kenfelja | Program Manager, Canadian Blood Services, Toronto, Ontario

Last updated July 2025