Susan Q. McKenzie
Susan is an experienced communications and fundraising professional who has worked to advance a number of charities across Canada. In 2010, after a year on dialysis, she received a new kidney from her husband’s sister. The fear and isolation of that experience planted the first seeds in her mind that much more needed to be done to help others with kidney disease. Two of Susan’s three daughters have also been diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation (MUC1) which ultimately leads to kidney failure.
When Susan’s middle daughter needed a kidney transplant in 2017, helping her daughter try to navigate the healthcare system in search of a living donor, further underscored the critical role of patients and donors stepping up to help each other through this very difficult time. Not being a person to step away from a challenge, Susan began working with fellow patients, kidney donors, and researchers to establish the Transplant Ambassador Program (TAP), a volunteer driven, peer support program which has been helping kidney patients and donors navigate the transplant journey since 2017.
Today, TAP has over 150 Ambassadors, and has been launched in all 27 renal centres in Ontario. TAP recently launched additional innovative features to support patients and living donors, including a new Ambassador Directory, and a first-in-Canada service, Patients Seeking Donors, which allows patients to post a profile on a safe and secure website to help them in their search for a living donor.