Meet Daryl

Daryl, a man with white hair and wearing a black polo shirt, looks toward the camera in an outdoor poto.

Daryl Luster is a person who lived with hepatitis C.
Participated in a phase two clinical trial in 2010.
Treated and cured.

For most, that would be the end of their hep C experience: for Daryl, it was the beginning.

Over the last ten-plus years, Daryl’s work has evolved in many ways, yet stayed committed to the path he was set on after his own diagnosis, to be an advocate and peer mentor for those affected by hepatitis C. Daryl works as a consultant, contractor and advisor on issues related to hepatitis C in both clinical and community-based capacities.

Daryl’s work is focused on exploring hepatitis C with people affected in approachable ways, as well as with caregivers and communities, legislators, and healthcare professionals. As someone who lived with hep C, he has specific insight into the hep C experience–from not just his own experience, but through listening and sharing with others who have lived with the virus since his own work began. Daryl’s work is driven by not only his own experience: he also carries the stories of the hundreds of others with hep C he has met through the years into his work.

Daryl’s hep C story began before the hepatitis C treatments we have today: these new treatments now make a cure possible for all who are diagnosed and linked to care. The greatest issue those affected now face is access to the supports and resources needed for testing, care, and treatment.

While Daryl’s passion is being in community, he is also active on several other hepatitis-focused initiatives shaping a new landscape for those affected, including committees with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), UBC PAC, and British Columbia’s Viral Hepatitis Elimination Roadmap.

Daryl acknowledges that he works, lives, and plays on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) people and many other First Nations, Inuit and Metis Territories.