Celebrating Maariyah’s First Heart-a-versary

On December 19^th, KHERG took part in a celebration of the one-year anniversary of Maariyah Rahman’s heart transplant. This fundraising event in support of the UHN Transplant Program was inspired by Maariyah’s journey through heart failure and transplantation.

In December 2018, Maariyah was suddenly diagnosed with heart failure after developing what she thought was a common cough – as would be expected for a healthy, active 20-year old. Within weeks of receiving this diagnosis, Maariyah received a heart transplant. She has been working to raise awareness of organ donation and transplantation since. You can read more about her story here: https://this-is-trsm.com/2019/05/my-second-chance-at-life/

Event attendees were all listening closely as Maariyah and her family shared their experiences with diagnosis, surgeries, hospitalization, and recovery. Dr. Istvan Mucsi also gave a brief presentation on the importance of organ donation and transplantation. While he talked about the statistics and science of this, we also saw the proof of how important organ donation is when all the transplant recipients, donors, and donor families were asked to stand up.

Overall, the event was a touching evening filled with the reminder of all the hope and strength that drives transplant. We are excited to continue working with Maariyah to raise awareness of organ donation and transplantation in the community.

And if you haven’t already, please consider registering to become an organ donor at https://beadonor.ca/.