Remembering John Basaraba, VGH perfusionist and pioneer

British Columbia’s first perfusionist and chief, John Basaraba, passed away on April 20, 2013. He was 86.

John started at VGH in 1955 and retired from perfusion in 1984, when more than 300 staff, dignitaries and patients attended his farewell dinner. His legacy lives on in simple things like the Basaraba tubing holder, still in use today, and he mentored many first generation perfusionists from across Canada. John is also connected to a rather “infamous” story of an illegal bingo game to raise funds to purchase VGH’s first heart pump.

To learn more about John, my complete memorial to this true pioneer can be found in the April 2013 issue of The Perfusionist the official journal of The Canadian Society of Clinical Perfusion.