Celebrating 15 Years Post-Transplant: Awareness, Advocacy, and Research with Alissa Assu and Dr. Jagbir Gill

Alissa Assu

Owner of Bear Essential Oils, RavenSong Soap & Candle, Little Wildflowers, and West Coast Wildflowers

Alissa Assu is Nisga’a and Vietnamese, and a member of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. A kidney transplant recipient and advocate for Indigenous health and organ donation awareness, Assu will celebrate 15 years with a living donor kidney transplant on June 27, 2026, gifted by Adrienne Charlie. Through her lived experience, Assu shares the strength and possibilities that can come from “borrowed time.” As a four-time small business owner, she brings Indigenous values of wellness, community, and connection into both her businesses and advocacy work.

Alongside Dr. Jag Gill, Assu supports awareness initiatives and research that promote culturally safe care, organ donation education, and equitable health outcomes for Indigenous communities.

Dr. Jagbir Gill

Scientist, MD, MPH, FRCPC

Dr. Jagbir Gill is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of British Columbia and Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.  He also serves as Medical Director of Data and Quality for BC Transplant, President of the Canadian Organ Replacement Register Board of Directors, and as Treasurer for the Canadian Society of Transplantation.

His primary clinical focus is in renal transplantation and his research interests are in transplant epidemiology and database analyses, examining access to transplantation, expansion of organ donation, and the impact of donor status on post-transplant health outcomes.