Dr. Abraham Albert “Al” Yuzpe passed away on November 13, 2025.
A leader in reproductive medicine and Canada’s most senior reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Yuzpe was a current Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. He was also a Professor Emeritus at Western University, and co-founder and co-director of Olive Fertility Centre.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Yuzpe helped to transform reproductive medicine worldwide. In his landmark paper published in The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, he was the first to describe a method for emergency contraception. Known as the Yuzpe Method, the safe and effective regimen extended reproductive choice for women around the world. It was recently recognized by the Canadian Child and Youth Health Coalition as one of the ten Canadian discoveries with the greatest impact on child and youth health outcomes in the past 100 years.
Together with colleagues, Dr. Yuzpe played an instrumental role introducing laparoscopy to Canada and helped establish the first Canadian training courses on the technique. Dr. Yuzpe was also a champion of IVF, establishing four IVF clinics in Canada and leading numerous initiatives to improve the safety and effectiveness of reproductive technologies.
Read a tribute to Dr. Yuzpe from the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
The B.C., Musqueam and UBC flags were lowered on Thursday, December 11, 2025 in remembrance.