In 2002, after years of kidney problems, Gunther Bruhn was diagnosed with kidney failure and was told his treatment would involve hours of dialysis. This meant he would need to spend a lot of time away from his family. But Gunther’s wife of 46 years, Christa, made the courageous decision to donate one of her kidneys to help her husband.

Christa had a fierce love of family. As one of 10 children raised by a war widow, Christa always put family before all else. When the time came, she didn’t hesitate to sacrifice for her husband. “We always considered Christa our hero,” says Gunther’s brother Ernie Bruhn. Her gift gave Gunther 10 more years to spend with his family — camping, fishing and taking trips to his home country of Germany — until he passed away in 2013.

Sadly, Christa was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. After moving to a hospice in Abbotsford, she passed away in her sleep last year.

Before she passed, Christa wanted to show her appreciation for those wonderful years the kidney transplant gave Gunther. Christa left a $25,000 gift in her will to the Transplant Research Foundation of BC Fund.

“Gunther and Christa are gone from us, but their memory will live forever,” says Ernie. And Christa’s estate gift will definitely live on in the work of BC-based transplant researchers. The Transplant Research Foundation of BC Fund supports groundbreaking research in transplant treatment and care right here in BC, to help save and improve the lives of people threatened by organ failure — a mission the Bruhns are proud to support.

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