Living Transplant: Patient Stories | Organ Donation | Medical Experts

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Team Delfina: Betsy Amores, Peter Budziak and their two amazing children, liver transplant recipient Delfina, and big brother Matthew. Peter and Betsy talk about their family’s journey with Delfina, who was diagnosed with biliary atresia, and later needed a living liver transplant to save her life. After a large media campaign and a surgery on her liver, mom Betsy...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Ioanna Roumeliotis, a kidney donor to her brother who lives with Polycystic Kidney Disease. They discuss the process of donating, the ups and downs and how ordinary people can do extraordinary things, like saving a life by donating a kidney or liver. Candice and Ioanna are joined by Dr. Sunita Singh, Medical Director of the Living Kidney Donation Progr...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Maria Acero. They discuss Maria’s journey as a caregiver to her husband Luis, who was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the age of 15, and at the age of 47, was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. In 2019, Luis underwent two liver transplants within nine days, saving his life, but leaving him and his family with a difficult recovery journey,...

This is a special episode of Behind the Scenes at the Banff CST Conference.  The conference connects members of the Canadian Society of Transplantation with cutting edge science and leading clinical practices that can be used to advance the practice and science of transplantation in Canada. Host Candice Coghlan is joined by members who presented at the conference.  You will hear from Dr. Marcello...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Michelle Rambarran. They discuss Michelle’s journey as a new mom, learning she had spontaneous coronary artery dissection and what it was like to have a heart transplant, fearing that she may not see her son’s first birthday. Michelle had twelve amazing years with her heart, but needed a second heart transplant at the height of COVID. They discuss how...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Chris Smith. Chris discusses how he became involved as an organ donation advocate through meeting his partner after she donated a portion of her liver to her father. Candice and Chris are joined by Dr. Markus Selzner, the Surgical Director of the Ajmera Liver Transplant Program at the University of Toronto and Co-Director of the Toronto Abdominal Organ...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest hosts Joanne Kearney and Brendan Cahill, co-founders of the Centre for Living Organ Donation to tell their story of how Brendan became a kidney donor to Joanne through the Paired Exchange Program and how they used math to support their decisions and later pivoted to channel their passion and experience to help others. Later they are joined by Dr. Atul Humar,...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Mary Beaucage. As a follow up to the episode Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Mary discusses her kidney transplant from her cousin, barriers to transplant and her extensive advocacy work. Candice and Mary are joined by Dr. Istvan Mucsi, a clinical investigator and transplant nephrologist at the Multi Organ Transplant Program and Division of Nephrology at UH...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Alley Adams who lived with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years, and after three calls, received a kidney pancreas transplant on her fourth. They speak about what it is like to be diagnosed with a chronic illness at a young age, how that impacts your outlook on life, and how to find a living donor. Alley and Candice are joined by Andrea Norgate, Kidney an...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Guest Host, Sara Murray, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just months old. She brings us through her brave journey of what life was like as a child and young adult with cystic fibrosis and what it was like to receive “the call” for her lung transplant. Sara also discusses her journey in wanting to become a mother, and how her sister stepped forward to be...

Today’s episode contains material that might be difficult to hear. Discretion is advised. Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Tamara Hartley- Harris who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age. Tamara’s journey is one that is filled with hardship, strength and love. She discusses living with diabetes, having a life-threatening health episode that sent her into a coma which turn...

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Kate Chong, who received a kidney transplant from her husband. Kate and her husband have a two year old daughter, and she is pregnant, excitedly awaiting the birth of her son. Candice and Kate discuss their journeys in family planning, being pregnant, and the joys of motherhood while living with chronic kidney disease. They are joined by Candice’s obst...

Hosts Courtney and Brittany sit down with Indigenous storyteller and kidney transplant recipient, Mary Beaucage for an authentic look at the kidney transplant experience. From her crash start into kidney failure to new experiences of community to advocating for patient oriented research, Mary holds nothing back.   Read more about Mary’s transplant patient advocacy  here .

Courtney and Brittany sit down with Tianna McFarlane, the founder of Heal in Colour, for something a little different but absolutely necessary. Launched earlier this year, Heal in Colour is revolutionizing the way people shop for bandages by creating a world where black and brown bandages are part of the norm. Find out how Tianna broke into bandage world and how Heal in Colour has brought Canada c...

Post-liver transplant coordinator, Shauna Watson and post-lung transplant coordinator, Pauline Harney join Courtney and Brittany to discuss their roads into the world of transplant, the day-to-day life of a coordinator, and how they stay organized with literally hundreds of patients. Shauna and Pauline talk about the joy of seeing patients thrive and the wins that keep them addicted to the world o...

Courtney and Brittany are joined by Dr. Hance Clarke, Director of Pain Services and Medical Director of the Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Hospital. Dr. Clarke walks our hosts through his journey to pain medicine, the difference between acute pain services and transitional pain services, and the interaction between CBD, THC, and anti-rejection medications. Also in this episode: how to pick...

In the second and final part of A Heart Away From Home, guest Heather Lannon explains how she landed on her PhD research question: how is home connected to the transplant journey? After promising Jamie she would do her PhD, Heather talks about what it was like to jump into her research just two months after his passing (she blames “widow brain”), the pros and cons of combining the personal and the...

We’re back to hearts this week with Heather Lannon, Outreach Coordinator for the Centre for Living Organ Donation, PhD candidate and caregiver. Heather recounts her transplant experience which began when her and her husband Jamie relocated from St. John’s Newfoundland to Toronto in the hopes of receiving a new heart for Jamie. With an unbeatable sense of humour, Heather offers an in depth look at...

In this special episode of Living Transplant, Courtney and Brittany host Explore a Career in Transplantation, part two of the Ajmera Transplant Centre’s Virtual Open House (May 19, 2021). Dr. Kathryn Tinckam, UHN’s Physician-in-Chief, Dr. Blayne Sayed, Liver Transplant Surgeon, Dr. Cynthia Tsien, Transplant Hepatologist and Education Director, and Joanne Zee, Senior Clinical Director of the Ajmera...

In Living Transplant’s first heart-focused episode, Courtney and Brittany sit down with heart function (not “failure”!) fellow, Mali Worme, and heart transplant recipient, Vino Ramachandran. Diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy 10 years ago, Vino walks us through what it was like to go from a “fairly normal life” to watching his health “fall off a cliff.” As Vino recalls some of the more challeng...

Jeff Robertson, founder of the PKD Foundation of Canada, joins Courtney and Brittany to talk all things polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Raised by a mother with PKD and a father juggling the roles of husband, caregiver and parent, Jeff learned firsthand what it means to live with chronic disease, as well as the life-altering power of transplant. With frank authenticity, Jeff talks about the ebbs a...

Transplant pharmacist, Dipika Munyal guides Courtney and Brittany through the complex world of anti-rejection and immunosuppression (are these….the same thing? It’s like I learned nothing). From libido to infection to the effects grapefruit has on medications, Dipika explains the reasoning behind medications for transplant recipients, common side effects, and why it’s not all bad. Also in this epi...

In this episode, Courtney and Brittany are joined by Toby and Bernadine “Bernie” Boulet, the parents of Logan Boulet. In 2018 Logan became an organ donor after he was injured in the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash. Logan inspired hundreds of thousands of Canadians to register as organ donors, resulting in an unprecedented increase in donor registration, a movement that came to be known as the Lo...

Diagnosed with lupus in her early twenties, Jennen Johnson’s road to transplant was a windy one. With humour and authenticity, Jennen dives into the details of her story exploring her denial and eventual acceptance of kidney failure. From explaining transplant to her 12-year-old daughter, to searching for a living kidney donor, to intimacy pre- and post-transplant, Jennen's story is an excellent r...

Courtney and Brittany  are joined by  kidney transplant recipient and philanthropist, Salah Bachir, his husband, Jacob  Yerex , and UHN’s Physician in Chief, Dr. Ed Cole. The y  discuss   Salah's  seven years on dialysis prior to transplant , the  inspiration for the Bachir  Yerex  Family Dialysis Centre,  and what Dr. Cole sees for the future of kidney transplant ation  and dialysis.  Also in thi...