Edmonton man grateful for heart transplant, supported through hospital lottery program
Posted April 12, 2026 9:50 am.
From the basement to the third floor, people can get a chance to win an Edmonton home. But it’s also an opportunity to help someone who needs it the most, including one man who received a heart transplant, being supported by the University Hospital.
“Can’t really say I was probably more shocked than anything,” said Olwen Lepps, a heart transplant recipient.
Lepps was always an active guy during his teenage years, playing football and rugby.
But his life completely changed when he got injured, and he was eventually diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood.
“I had shortness of breath and angina, which is chest pain I had. It was hard for me to sleep lying down … part of it I thought. Well, I’m just really out of shape during rugby season, so I have to push myself to get in better shape,” said Lepps.
The doctor noticed that his heart was three times its normal size.
“I didn’t think about life or death. It was more This is going to take time, and it could interfere with my ability to be on that to have that scholarship,’” said Lepps.
In 1990, Lepps had a heart transplant, with the University Hospital continuing to support his health, all thanks to the funds from the lottery program.
“It’s a way that people can support a great cause and get something from it,” said Raegan Sather Willford, the marketing and communications director for the University Hospital Foundation.
The funds are being distributed to both Royal Alex and the University Hospital Foundation to help medical research and cardiac care, including diagnosis and treatment.
“Improving the technology within that suite – or (operating room) suite to make sure that we’re doing the best possible work and providing the doctors and the cardiologists and the interventionalists with the best technology that is out there,” said Willford.
Lepps adds, “Can’t say enough about how it’s helped my life, and well, I wouldn’t be here without it.”
The lottery is a partnership between the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation and the Royal Alex Hospital Foundation. People have until midnight on April 15th to get their tickets.
