Health · Healthcare & Policy · 2 hrs ago
Ajmera family gives $35-million to create UHN transplant institute
The Ajmera family donated $35-million to University Health Network in Toronto to support organ transplantation.
The gift will fund the Ajmera Transplant Institute, building on work at the Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital.
The family has now given UHN $62-million, the largest known donation in Canada for transplant care by a single family.
More than 250 Canadians die each year waiting for an organ, and many others face rejection or other transplant complications.
The institute plans to bring together patient care, research and education, with work on artificial intelligence and ways to improve the use of available organs.
UHN says the institute aims to reduce wait times and improve outcomes by developing new transplant treatments and drawing experts from different fields.
The Ajmera family has donated $35-million to the University Health Network to help create the Ajmera Transplant Institute.
The gift brings the family’s total donations to UHN to $62-million, the largest known donation in Canada by a single family for transplant care.
The institute is intended to bring together transplant care, research and education as a global hub.
UHN says the institute will build on the work of the Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital.
More than 250 Canadians die each year while waiting for a life-saving organ, according to Canadian Blood Services.
- Who
- The Ajmera family donated the money to the University Health Network.
- What
- A $35-million gift will help create the Ajmera Transplant Institute.
- When
- The donation was announced on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- The institute will build on the Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital in Toronto.
- Why
- The institute aims to advance transplant care, research and education, and help address the shortage of available organs.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Ajmera Transplant Centre was established at Toronto General Hospital and named in recognition of an earlier donation from the family.
The Ajmera family announced a $35-million donation to help develop the Ajmera Transplant Institute.
- Gift
- $35-million
- Family’s total donations to UHN
- $62-million
- Institute
- Ajmera Transplant Institute
- Location of existing transplant centre
- Toronto General Hospital
- Canadians who die waiting for an organ each year
- More than 250
What people are saying
My hope is that the Ajmera Transplant Institute will turn the discoveries of today into the treatments that save lives tomorrow – improving the lives of patients and families for generations to come,
The institute will be all things transplant, so it will include the clinical care, including all the organs we transplant. It will include research. It will include education. We will be able to recruit the best and brightest people from around the planet.
With it, we will have the opportunity to reimagine what is possible for those facing organ failure, reduce wait times and improve outcomes, and advance the next generation of transplant therapies.