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Dr Sharan Rambarran

Sharan Rambarran

“Sharan Rambarran completed his surgical training in 2008 at UKZN. In 2013 he completed a sub-speciality certificate in surgical gastroenterology, with a specific focus on hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery. At this stage he headed up the Upper GI unit at Addington Hospital and was a core member of the GI Surgical Division at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. During this time he helped establish and run advanced endoscopy at IALCH and was involved with outreach to remote hospitals helping up-skill medical professionals at peripheral hospitals across KZN.

Sharan has won a number of travelling international fellowships – Advanced Endoscopy to Kyushu, Japan 2009, Minimal Access Karl Storz surgical fellowship to Straubing, Germany 2015 and two further gastroenterology fellowships to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sharan moved to Johannesburg Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in 2016 after a chance meeting with the Johannesburg team inspired a bold move to pivot into transplant surgery.

After completing the fellowship offered by Wits Transplant in 2019, Sharan has now taken up the role as lead surgeon of the Liver Transplant Program at WDGMC.

Sharan is hoping to help drive South Africa into a new era of transplant surgery by demystifying this extremely specialised but vitally needed field of surgery.”

Johan Koen CV

Johan Koen is a Cardiothoracic, Transplant and MCS Surgeon based at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town where he is the Deputy Director of the Heart Transplant and MCS Program.
He qualified with an MBChB, a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology, and a MMed In Cardiothoracic Surgery (cum laude) from the University of Stellenbosch. He’s registered as a Medical Doctor in South Africa, Belgium, and Canada. He completed his specialist training at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, and was awarded the Libero Fatti Medal for best performing candidate in the final FC Cardio (SA) examinations.

He was also awarded the Firstrand Laurie Dippenaar Scholarship for International Postgraduate Study. Subsequently, he completed an Adult Cardiovascular and Heart Transplant and Mechanical Support Surgery Fellowship at Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada.

He is an internationally published researcher with his interests previously focussed on controlled temperature storage of donor hearts. He is currently involved with the Institute of Bioengineering (IBE) at Stellenbosch University researching novel methods to improve mechanical circulatory support options for patients with chronic heart failure.

In addition to his skill as a Transplant Surgeon, he is an accomplished cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, with a special interest in offering minimally invasive thoracic surgery, as well as surgery for complex coronary, valve, aortic, arrythmia and heart failure pathology.

Fellow of Academy of Nursing South Africa

I qualified as a nurse and midwife in 1982 and obtained post-grad Diploma in Intensive Nursing Science in 1985. I spent a year on a kibbutz in Israel milking cows and trying to learn how to read from right to left.

I worked in cardio-thoracic ICU until 1998 when I joined Netcare Transplant Division in Cape Town. I completed the Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) Diploma in Spain in 2000. I have presented at every SA Transplant Congress since 1999 and at several international congresses. I have been a transplant coordinator for 28 years and have served on Organ Donor Foundation and SA Transplant Society in the past. I have recently been elected Chairperson for SA Transplant Coordinator Society. More recently I was a guest speaker at ISODP in Kyoto, Japan. I remain the flight coordinator for the ODF in a volunteer capacity, and I maintain my interest in aviation. I obtained my private pilots license in 2001 and flew actively for many years. I remain an aircraft stalker on Flight Radar. My other hobbies include game and bird watching with my husband Eugene, reading fiction, and wine tasting. I consider myself to be an uncertified sommelier of rose’ wines. (A self-appointed connoisseur.)

Transplant Coordinator & Public Health Specialist

Mathinya Tlhapane is a dedicated Transplant Coordinator at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University with over 20 years of experience in nursing and clinical research. Currently a PhD candidate, she holds a Master’s in Public Health and multiple advanced nursing diplomas.

  • Key Contributions:
    Provincial Leadership: Serves as the temporary leader for Gauteng Provincial Coordinators, managing organ donor activities across the Gauteng, Limpopo, and Northwest provinces.
  • Education & Advocacy: Has conducted over 15 radio sessions and appeared on SABC 2 to dispel myths and raise community awareness about organ donation.
  • System Strengthening: Trains "transplant link nurses" and ICU specialists to improve the early identification and referral of potential donors.
  • Research Excellence: Previously served as a Research Nurse Head of Department, leading clinical trials for COVID-19, HIV, and RSV vaccines.
    Driven by compassion, Mathinya focuses on extending transplant awareness beyond institutional boundaries to improve patient outcomes across South Africa.

Tinus Du Toit is a respected academic and researcher at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Groote Schuur Hospital. He is widely recognised for his expertise in nephrology and organ transplantation, with a focus on kidney replacement therapy in South Africa.

His research addresses critical healthcare challenges, including the impact of COVID-19 on organ donation and the state of renal care in under-resourced provinces. Du Toit has published on innovative surgical techniques and successful multi-organ donations in district hospitals, reflecting his commitment to improving clinical outcomes. Supported by the Medical

Research Council and the Directorate for Biological Sciences, he continues to advance the field through research, clinical practice, and academic contributions.

Dr Nthabeleng Porai Moshesh or Porai, is the current Head of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. Dr Moshesh qualified as a Paediatrician in 2010 and trained in critical care in both the private and public sectors through a public private partnership. Dr Moshesh obtained a Paediatric Critical Care Certificate in 201 [MBCHB/FCPaeds/ Certificate in Crit Care (Paeds)]. She has worked in both the private sector and public sectors in paediatrics and critical care. Her interests lie in transplant medicine in critical care, neurocritical care (drownings) and resuscitation of critically-ill children. With a strong belief in early mobilisation in the ICU and provision of adequate minimal sedation and analgesia, the unit provides an awake, comfortable and cooperative paediatric patient care approach.

Nicola Wearne

Associate Professor Nicola Wearne is Head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently the secretary of the South African Nephrology Society, a member of the African Nephrology Society executive committee (Chair of the teaching and education committee as well as and President of Women in Nephrology -Africa.

She is head of both the HIV kidney service and peritoneal dialysis service in the division. She is currently completing her PhD which is related to HIV and kidney disease. She has published widely in this area. Nicci has a strong passion for kidney supportive and palliative care programmes in South Africa and was involved in the production of guidelines on this topic for South Africa. She is actively involved with the International Society of Nephrology and is responsible for managing the fellowship programme in the division.

Dr Marisa Beretta

Dr Marisa Beretta is a paediatric gastroenterologist who specialises in hepatology and paediatric liver transplantation. She conducted her training at WDGMC, completed her sub-specialty in 2018and is currently one of the consultants at the Paediatric Liver Transplant Unit at Wits Donald Gordon, the largest paediatric liver transplant unit in South Africa. Her current research involves exploring and optimising immunosuppression post-liver transplant, acute liver failure, cholestatic liver disease and publishing the South African paediatric liver disease and transplant experience.

Prof. Brenda Morrow

PhD 2005; PG Diploma (Paediatric Palliative Medicine) 2019 [with distinction]; Postgraduate Diploma (Health Research Ethics) 2014 [Cum Laude]; BSc Physiotherapy 1995 Brenda Morrow is a Physiotherapist and Full Professor in the Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Brenda has special interests in interdisciplinary paediatric critical care practice and research; global health; cardiopulmonary rehabilitation; palliative care; and medical ethics. Brenda has over 160 peer reviewed publications; she is co-editor of the textbook, “Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy in Trauma: An Evidence-based Approach”; she has written 21 book chapters; and presented at numerous national and international congresses. Brenda holds a Southern African National Research Foundation (NRF) B rating and has a Google Scholar h-index of 36. She is immediate past-President of the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies (WFPICCS) and current President of the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa. Brenda is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Southern African Journal of Critical Care; Senior Associate Editor for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Associate Academic Editor of PlosOne. She is a regular reviewer for over 40 international journals and grant funding agencies. She has recently won the 2025 South African Women in Science Distinguished Woman Researcher Award (Natural and Engineering Sciences).

Dr Zunaid Barday

Dr Zunaid Barday qualified (MBChB) at the University of Cape Town in 1993. He trained as a physician and then a nephrologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, where he continues to work. He runs the Renal Transplant Clinic and is involved in all aspects of living kidney donor assessment and post-transplant care of kidney transplant recipients. More recently he has been involved starting the first ABO incompatible kidney transplant programme in South Africa. He also looks after renal failure patients at the UCT and Athlone Kidney and Dialysis Centres. Research interests include desensitization and immunosuppression protocols as well as HIV positive kidney transplantation.

Wacky fact – loves teasing Fiona and “Dad Jokes”, preferably at the same time!

Sharan Rambarran

“Sharan Rambarran completed his surgical training in 2008 at UKZN. In 2013 he completed a sub-speciality certificate in surgical gastroenterology, with a specific focus on hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery. At this stage he headed up the Upper GI unit at Addington Hospital and was a core member of the GI Surgical Division at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. During this time he helped establish and run advanced endoscopy at IALCH and was involved with outreach to remote hospitals helping up-skill medical professionals at peripheral hospitals across KZN.

Sharan has won a number of travelling international fellowships - Advanced Endoscopy to Kyushu, Japan 2009, Minimal Access Karl Storz surgical fellowship to Straubing, Germany 2015 and two further gastroenterology fellowships to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sharan moved to Johannesburg Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in 2016 after a chance meeting with the Johannesburg team inspired a bold move to pivot into transplant surgery.

After completing the fellowship offered by Wits Transplant in 2019, Sharan has now taken up the role as lead surgeon of the Liver Transplant Program at WDGMC.

Sharan is hoping to help drive South Africa into a new era of transplant surgery by demystifying this extremely specialised but vitally needed field of surgery."

Meshack Nkosinaye Motha

Meshack Nkosinaye Motha is an aspiring surgeon with specialized expertise in transplant surgery. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he has made significant contributions at the CMJAH Transplant Unit and the Wits Hospital Complex. With over 100 cadaveric solid organ procurements, he has advanced renal transplantation in the public sector and is actively involved in expanding to liver and pancreatic transplantation.

Motha’s extensive training includes rotations in general surgery and specialized exposure in trauma, burns, cardiothoracic, and pediatric surgery. He holds multiple qualifications, including a Master of Medicine in Surgery and a Fellowship in the College of Surgeons.

He has contributed to medical research and publications, presenting findings on gallbladder cancer staging and transplant complications. His leadership roles include coordinating surgical education and memberships in prominent transplant and surgical societies. A regular attendee of international conferences, he remains committed to academic growth and innovation in transplant surgery.

Fun Fact- adrenaline Junky (enjoy bungee jumping and skydiving)

Carla Wilmans

Carla Wilmans is the Administrative Unit Head of the Transplant Unit at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC). She also manages the Medical and Surgical Faculty Practice, the Colorectal Unit as well as the Clinical Associate body at the hospital.

Carla obtained her B.Pharm (with distinction) from the University of the Witwatersrand and has worked in various sales, marketing and business management roles in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries(Pharmacia, Roche, Amgen and Fresenius Medical Care)

Carla was actively involved in the development and publishing of the Wits Transplant Procurement Handbook and Family Approach to Consent Strategy(FACTS).

She is passionate about working with people and working strategically to implement efficient service delivery and workflow processes to ensure that all patients and families who come through the WDGMC Transplant Unit, Faculty Practice and the Colorectal Unit experience exceptional care.

In her spare time, Carla enjoys playing padel and running.

Thozama Siyotula

Specialist paediatric surgeon in the division of Paediatric surgery Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town MMED Masters of medicine through the university cape town 2021 (University of Cape Town) FCPS Fellow of the college of paediatric surgeons 2021 MBBCH Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBCH) University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg 2011 Convener 5th year paediatric surgery undergraduate, University of Cape Town Committee Member: International Pediatric Transplant Association Multi-Organ Transplant Committee Research interest include post-surgical neonatal outcomes, paediatric transplantation, hepatic arteriovenous malformations and Global surgery. She aspires to be a clinician scientist. Publication Pediatr Surg Int (2022). Recipient of the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2020, previous president of SAPSTA 2019/2020 and SASSIT executive member 2017/2018. “The greatest views are after the hardest climbs, but summit we must”

Prof Jerome Loveland

Jerome worked as the Clinical Head of Paediatric Surgery, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) from 2008 until 2022, and held the position of Academic Head, Department of Paediatric Surgery, Wits, from 2014 to 2023 when his 10 year tenure expired. In 2022 he was appointed Academic Head of Transplantation at Wits, and is the Clinical Head of Transplantation at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC). He is in good standing with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Jerome served on the Exco of the South African Association of Paediatric Surgeons (SAAPS) from 2012 to 2024, and was the Vice President of SAAPS from 2016 to 2024. Jerome has also been an active member of the Exco of the College of Paediatric Surgeons of South Africa (CMSA) from 2014 to 2024. Jerome was an Exco member of the South African Transplantation Society (SATS) from 2007 - 2019, Secretary of SATS from 2009 – 2015, and President of SATS for the periods 2015 – 2017, and 2017 – 2019. He is also the founding member and Chairman of the Board of the “Surgeons for Little Lives” charity, this from 2014 to date. In 2023 Jerome was appointed to the Council of St John’s College, Johannesburg.

Jerome was awarded the Swann Morton Research Prize for best trainee publication in 2004, the Oscar Norwich Traveling Fellowship in 2007, and numerous Research Grants. In 2010 he received a Letter of Commendation from Wits, was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011, to Associate Professor in 2013, and to full Personal Professor in June 2018. In 2016 he was the recipient of the “Exceptional Service” award from the School of Health Sciences. In 2010 President Jacob Zuma awarded him the Presidential Award for “Excellence in Paediatric Surgical Care, Baragwanath Hospital”. In September 2020, Jerome was awarded the “Golden Eagle” Award, by his alma mater, St John’s College, in recognition of his contribution to Paediatric Surgery in South Africa, and the children that he serves. In September 2021, Professor Loveland was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Individual Award for Academic Citizenship by Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.

Dr Priya Walabh

I am the clinical head of paediatric gastroenterology/hepatology at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital since establishing the unit in 2015. I completed my speciality and subspeciality training at Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town in 2011. My passion is paediatric liver transplantation, with my primary focus being to address disparities in transplantation and organ allocation and the impact of social determinants of health thus aiming to make the “gift of life” equally accessible to all South Africans. I also have a special interest in infectious diseases associated with liver transplantation and am a committee member of the Special Interest Group (SIG): Infectious disease and transplantation in the International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS).

Wacky Fact: Hot yoga, swimming and tarot cards are my mind-body detox methods especially during the chaotic planetary retrogrades and eclipse seasons

Mande Toubkin

Employer: Netcare Limited

Position: National Emergency Trauma, Transplant, Disaster Management and Corporate Social Investment Manager, Netcare

Qualifications: Dip General Nursing, Dip Midwifery (Honors), Dip Paediatric Nursing Science (Honors), Trauma Nursing (Honors), Hospital Nursing Management, Aviation Health Care Providers, FSA Interaction Management, Dip Medical and Surgical Nursing Trauma (Honors), Dip Medical and Surgical Nursing Critical Care (Honors) MSC Master of Science in Medicine (Emergency Medicine), fEMSSA, fANSA, Graduate Stanford University Compassion Ambassador, advisor on ministerial disaster management committee.

Other positions: Director and Secretary of the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa, Director Netcare Foundation.

Publications: Disaster Travel Medicine: The South African Rescue mission abroad, Guideline for the assessment of Tauma Centers in South Africa (SAMJ 2011), Transplant Clinical Governance Manual (HQS), Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients in South Africa during the COVID-19 omicron wave compared with previous waves (JAMA 2021),

Current responsibilities: Overall day-to-day management of Netcare Emergency, Trauma Transplant, Corporate Social Investment and Disaster Management Director of the Netcare Foundation NPO PBO.

Dr Francisca van der Schyff

Dr Francisca van der Schyff trained at the University of Cape Town to obtain her medical degree, with honors, in 2006.
She obtained her specialist qualification as a general surgeon in 2016, cum laude.

She spent an additional 2 years in the department of Paediatric surgery at the University of Pretoria before accepting a training post in transplantation at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical center.
She has since qualified as an abdominal transplant surgeon and is currently working as a full-time consultant within the transplant team at the Donald Gordon Medical Center.

She has previously published on biliary atresia and necrotizing enterocolitis in children and her current field of research include graft tolerance in children post liver transplant. She currently serves as a member of the Vanguard committee of the European Society of Organ Transplantation and President elect of the South African Transplant Society.

Wacky fact: I married my childhood sweetheart!

Dr David Thomson

David Thomson is a transplant surgeon and critical care specialist at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town. He completed his undergraduate training in 2002 at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and went on to specialise in surgery at the University of Cape Town completing his FCS(SA) in 2011 and MMed(Surgery) in 2012 and Critical Care in 2015. He currently works as a critical care subspecialist and as a surgeon in the liver and renal transplantation unit, leading the ECMO program. His interests are medical education and system improvement. He created the massive open online course Organ Donation: From Death to Life hosted on Coursera.org to improve education around organ donation and transplantation. He is a past President of the Southern African Transplantation Society and led development on a report on Organ and Tissue Donation in South Africa: Creating a National Strategic Roadmap in collaboration with the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement. He worked on the World Brain Death Project and is the lead author on the South African Guidelines for Determination of Death published in 2021. Wacky fact: Enjoys basketball and chess. Known to play online poker seriously.

PROF MIGNON MCCULLOCH
MBBCH DCH DTM&H FRCPCH FCP(Paeds)

Full Professor & Head of Clinical Unit of Paediatric Nephrology and Solid Organ Transplantation (including kidney, liver, and heart) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town. She is also the immediate Past president of the International Paediatric Transplantation Society (IPTA) involved in promoting paediatric transplantation worldwide.

Also, immediate Past-President of the South African Paediatric Association (SAPA) dealing specifically with COVID issues in the last 2 years as an important advocacy voice for children She is also a Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU) consultant and on the Saving Young Lives (SYL) Steering Committee. Her other interests include Paediatric Nephrology and care of critically ill children specifically with AKI requiring all forms of Dialysis and Transplant in infants and children.

This includes doing training Fellows and outreach work in various parts of Africa developing paediatric renal and transplant programs as well as Adolescent transition programs.
Wacky Fact: She is also an amateur surfer