After two and a half years on dialysis, and waiting six months on the transplant waitlist, Troy Chapman received his life-changing organ transplant in October 2025.
“I feel alive!” the 53-year-old Kelowna resident shares. “I now have all this energy to get active, get out in the bush with my 4x4 and enjoy time with my family and friends.”
Troy is part of a record-setting year in kidney transplants in 2025, and also one of 8,083 kidney transplant recipients in the province since the first kidney transplant 1968.
Troy suffered a stroke 15 years ago and eventually lost his legs from diabetes .
“I felt like I was slowly deteriorating. I was sick all the time, and it took me further into a dark hole.”
Dialysis was hard for Troy, up to four days a week, five and a half hours of travel each time from the time he left home until he returned. He felt very ill, often throwing up. “I tried to work through dialysis, a few days a week but it was a pretty tough journey. I had good days and bad days,” he recalls.
Just three months after his kidney transplant at St. Paul’s Hospital, Troy is back to exercising regularly and back at work. Appreciative of his new lease on life, he doesn’t take a day for granted.
He owns a construction business in Kelowna with his brother. “My brother is taking on more of the stressful stuff, but I am trying to do as much as I can and get my mobility back to not waste this gift,” he shares.
Troy now says he has a new lease on life and feels so grateful. A father of three boys, a proud business owner and family man, he has many people who got him to where he is today.
His family members have been with him through it all, and some traveling from across the country – including his brothers, sister and sister-in-law – came to Vancouver to care for him post-transplant.
Troy with his sister Bernadine and friends Bob and Joanne Goody
“I can’t say enough about how thankful I am for the support I received from my family during this time – those who travelled out, stayed, and helped in person, and my parents who supported me constantly over the phone. Knowing I wasn’t facing this alone made an enormous difference and carried me through some very difficult days,” Troy recalls.
Troy also has kind words for the outstanding healthcare team at St. Paul’s Hospital. He gushes about their hard work and dedication to changing lives every day. He enjoyed watching this ‘well-oiled machine’ of a team, where everyone who took care of him was friendly, understanding and really made the effort. He said he never felt like ‘just a number’.
“Who gets to see the doctor, nurse, pharmacist, dietitian, social worker and more, in the same day? Who gets that? We got it twice a week!” he exclaims. “Thank you to everyone at St. Paul’s for the professionalism, kindness, and humanity you bring to your work every day. It made a real difference in my life.”
But he reserves his biggest gratitude and appreciation for the donor and the donor family.
“To my donor’s family: while your family experienced an unimaginable tragedy, I want you to know that your loved one’s legacy lives on. Your loss will never be forgotten. Because of your generosity and courage during the most difficult moment of your lives, my life was saved – and so were the lives of others,” Troy remarks. “I received the right kidney, and another transplant recipient received the left. We even gave ourselves nicknames – I was ‘Righty’ and he was ‘Lefty’. There are no words that can fully express how grateful I am. Please know that your gift continues to make a difference every single day.”
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