The Daily Populous Monday June 9th, 2025 night edition
Authored by cbc.ca and submitted by Edm_vanhalen1981

The head cardiologist at Vancouver General Hospital says a $60 million donation toward a new cardiovascular health institute and innovation fund will have a life-saving impact around the world.

Dr. David Wood, head of cardiology at the hospital, said Thursday that $35 million is earmarked for the new institute, while $25 million is for a new "innovation fund" to immediately bolster research, while attracting top talent in the field from all over the world.

Angela Chapman, president of the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, said the donation from the Dilawri Foundation is the largest in the hospital foundation's history.

"That innovation fund, $25 million, completely changes the game," Wood said.

WATCH | New, innovative cardiac care centre coming to Vancouver: $60M donation expected to make Vancouver a world leader in cardiac care Duration 1:44 A new, innovative cardiac care centre is coming to Vancouver General Hospital thanks to a record-setting philanthropic gift from a Canadian company. As Chad Pawson reports, the new centre aims to be one of the best in the world.

Wood said the fund will allow him and colleagues to quickly implement new ideas without having to wait for government funding, including from the United States.

He said the infrastructure to support research in the U.S. "has completely changed."

"The [National Institutes of Health], the funding of research, the [Food and Drug Administration] getting new technology devices approved is now dramatically different than it was six months ago," he said.

"I feel very bad for some of my colleagues across the border."

Wood said the funding is a "transformative gift" that will help attract top foreign talent, and he said he had already received "hundreds of resumés."

Ajay Dilawri says the goal is to help establish a global centre of excellence that will set a new benchmark for cardiac innovation and treatment. (CBC)

Chapman said the land for the Dilawri Cardiovascular Institute on West 12th Avenue in Vancouver is currently being rezoned, with a plan to begin construction in 2027 and complete it within three or four years.

"It's a big project, so it has a lot of different components that are going to take time. The rezoning is one of them," she said. "We've been working with the city since we started to purchase the land."

She said the city has been "incredibly supportive of the project."

Ajay Dilawri, whose family company owns dozens of car dealerships, said the foundation made the donation after his father sought out treatment for heart issues around the world.

A rendering of the Dilawri Cardiovascular Institute, planned for West 12th Avenue in Vancouver. The site is currently undergoing rezoning, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and wrap up within three to four years. (Dilawri Foundation)

Dilawri said his father was 90 years old at the time, and the "overwhelming response" from health professionals, including at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, was that he needed "invasive" and complex open-heart surgery.

But Dilawri said Wood and his team proposed a different plan.

"They were very confident that they had the expertise to avoid open-heart surgery and do a procedure that was not as invasive," Dilawri said.

"Obviously, it was a sigh of relief. We were so grateful because, again, at his age, there could be complications and the risk factor is quite a bit higher. It was a godsend. It was an absolute feeling of relief."

TexanNewYorker on June 8th, 2025 at 22:27 UTC »

> Wood said the fund will allow him and colleagues to quickly implement new ideas without having to wait for government funding, including from the United States.

> He said the infrastructure to support research in the U.S. “has completely changed.”

> “The [National Institutes of Health], the funding of research, the [Food and Drug Administration] getting new technology devices approved is now dramatically different than it was six months ago,” he said.

> “I feel very bad for some of my colleagues across the border.”

> Wood said the funding is a “transformative gift” that will help attract top foreign talent, and he said he had already received “hundreds of resumés.”