Jordan Zwicker and Debbie Litvack after Zwicker’s kidney transplant last November. Litvack donated the organ. (photo from JMABC)
When Debbie Litvack found out her longtime friend Jordan Zwicker needed a kidney, her decision was instant.
“Jordan needed one. I had two. It felt like the right thing to do and not a big deal. Every single donor I speak to feels the same way,” Litvack said. “I have such good fortune with my health, that I wanted to share it. In addition, the community has been very kind to my family over the years. It’s a case of what goes around comes around.”
Litvack found out her friend was in need of a transplant shortly after she noticed his medical alert bracelet. He explained he is a Type 1 diabetic and, as a dialysis social worker, knowing the link between Type 1 DM and kidney disease, she asked about his kidney function. He denied any concerns although later learned he was in kidney failure and needed a transplant.
Zwicker is a “good guy” and someone who has had an outsized impact in the Vancouver Jewish community, said Litvack. As a DJ, he has mentored many of the community’s teens by hiring and training them in the event and DJ business.
Litvack said some people, like her, donate to someone they know. Others donate to family members. Others give the gift of life to someone they don’t even know. Either way, she sees it as pikuach nefesh, an active, sacred duty per halachah (Jewish law) to save a life. If you save one life, you save an entire world.
It took a battery of tests over the course of a year, including multiple and repeat blood tests, X-rays, mammogram, CT, renogram and more. There were also meetings with a nephrologist, a urologist and an anesthesiologist, as well as a comprehensive social work assessment. These assessments are vital to ensure both Litvack’s health and that she was a match. In fact, the transplant team had never seen such a strong match between a recipient and an unrelated donor.
“From the moment I decided to donate, I knew we would be a match,” she said. “It wasn’t a question of if I would donate, it was when.”
A potential donor and recipient go through the process separately. Because Litvack and Zwicker are friends, they shared a lot of their journey that is not normally shared. They also spoke often and at length about the “what ifs” in case the transplant was unsuccessful and about advanced care planning.
The transplant went ahead on Nov. 24, 2025, at Vancouver General Hospital, where Litvack works. The experience was quite different than being a professional at work and it has helped her connect in different ways with patients. She and Zwicker realized that there was an entire community of support that made the whole donation process possible.
Zwicker summed up his experience as life-changing.
“It’s given me the opportunity to continue my passion of working with people, an opportunity to be there for my son and family and a real opportunity to have the next 30 years of quality of life,” he said.
Litvack’s life-saving donation inspired the Jewish Medical Association of BC to highlight their member’s story by partnering with Temple Sholom, King David High School, BC Transplant, the Kidney Foundation of BC/Yukon and the Jewish Federation of BC to host an event that will look at organ donation from multiple angles – religious, ethical, medical, as well as personal perspectives from Litvack and Zwicker and other donors and recipients. The session will include information on how to become a donor.
The Gift of Life: Organ Donation from a Jewish Perspective takes place June 17, 7:15 p.m., at Temple Sholom. Registration is required for the free event: templesholom.ca.
Litvack encourages everyone from the Jewish, medical and local community with an interest to attend. “I really hope we will inspire someone at our event to donate,” she said. “And give the gift of life.”
– Courtesy Jewish Medical Association of British Columbia
Donors needed
There was an organ donation awareness and swab drive held at Beth Tikvah Synagogue May 25. It highlighted the work of Renewal Canada, which helps match people in kidney failure with donors to save their lives. An inspiration for the event was Jewish community member Robert Moutal’s need of a living donor kidney transplant. If you or someone you know is interested to learn how to be a living donor, visit transplant.bc.ca/organ-donation/living/kidney-donation, email [email protected] or call 604-806-9944. You can also contact Renewal Canada for more information: renewalcanada.org/moutal.
Other community members are also in need.
Temple Sholom member Libby Goszer has been diagnosed with end-stage renal failure requiring a kidney transplant. Her blood type is A+, which corresponds to an ideal donor of A+ or O blood type. Even if you do not have these blood types, it is still possible to pursue donation through the Living Donor Paired Exchange Program, where you donate to another person in exchange for a matched kidney for the recipient. If you or someone you know is interested in investigating being a living donor, go to renewalcanada.org/libbygoszer.
Additionally, last year, Daphne was diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN), a rare blood cancer, and her only hope for a cure is a stem cell transplant from a matching donor. All that’s needed is a simple cheek swab to see if you are a match. To order a kit, go to blood.ca/en/stemcells/donating-stemcells/stem-cells-questionnaire (ages 17-35) or giftoflife.org/dc/daphne (ages 36-60).
– from various community organization enewsletters