Catherine Kobayashi is the wife of a patient who received lung transplant using ex-vivo. Catherine’s husband Ross underwent lung transplantation surgery with Dr. Jayan Nagendran using the Ex-Vivo Organ Support System (EVOSS), although he has since passed away, Catherine is so grateful for the care and attention he received at the Maz. Staff at the Maz were so friendly and were good at explaining what was going on with Ross’ treatment.

EVOSS keeps donor lungs alive outside the body, increasing the availability and improving quality of donor organs.

When Ross retired he wanted to pursue other passions such as travel and hiking. He went on to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Milford Track and Chilcoot Trail to name a few. Unfortunately his passion for the outdoors was cut short when he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. He underwent a lung transplant in 2017.

Ross and Catherine lived in Calgary, and had to come to Edmonton for the surgery. Because EVOSS was used, Ross did not need to immediately go into surgery. He was able to rest for a night and come in the next day.

Following his transplant Ross became a strong advocate for organ transplantation and created a fund to support Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion. Ross and his family will forever be grateful to his lung donor and his medical teams. Ross passed away in October of 2018 at the age of 67.

Catherine has helped to establish the Ross Kobayashi Fund for Lung Transplantation.  This fund has been used to support the work of Dr. Jayan Nagendran.