Donald Blake Rix, CM OBC[2][3] (1931 – November 6, 2009) was a Canadian pathologist, philanthropist, community volunteer, and businessman. He was the founder and chair of MDS Metro Laboratory Services (now known as LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services), the largest private medical laboratory in Western Canada.[4]

Donald Blake Rix
Born1931
DiedNovember 6, 2009
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
Known forPhilanthropy
Medical career
ProfessionPathologist
AwardsOrder of Canada
Order of British Columbia

He was a member of several organizations and foundations including the BC Innovation Council, BC Cancer Agency Foundation, BC Medical Services Foundation, and the BC Children's Hospital Foundation and was the chairman of the Board of Governors of UNBC.[4]

Dr. Rix earned a specialty certificate in general pathology in 1968 from the University of Western Ontario. He was a fellow of the College of American Pathologists, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the University of Western Ontario, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and University of Victoria. He was the former chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade, a senior member of both the British Columbia and Canadian Medical Associations, and was awarded the BCMA Silver Medal of Service Award in 2004. On August 19, 2009, Dr. Rix was awarded the Canadian Medical Association's 2009 F.N.G. Starr Award.[5]

Donald Rix died of cancer on November 6, 2009,[1][6] and in 2014, it was revealed that he was the first patient in the world to have received personalized onco-genomics on a research basis as part of his cancer treatment.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Obituary - Donald B. Rix". Vancouver Sun / The Province - Classifieds. Legacy.com. November 10, 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  2. ^ "Order of Canada citation". Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  3. ^ "2004 Recipient: Dr. Donald Rix – Burnaby". Order of British Columbia. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  4. ^ a b "About Dr. Don Rix". BC SVP. Archived from the original on 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
  5. ^ "Dr. Donald Rix to receive the CMA's highest honour". CNW Telbec. August 12, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10.
  6. ^ Philanthropist Don Rix leaves a legacy felt in business and charity Archived October 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Vancouver Sun, November 6, 2009
  7. ^ Jones SJ, Laskin J, Li YY, Griffith OL, An J, Bilenky M, et al. (2010). "Evolution of an adenocarcinoma in response to selection by targeted kinase inhibitors". Genome Biology. 11 (8): R82. doi:10.1186/gb-2010-11-8-r82. PMC 2945784. PMID 20696054.
  8. ^ Pamela Fayerman (2014-10-31). "Mystery patient in Vancouver's medical milestone revealed". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
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