The Gifted Life: Organ, Tissue and Eye Donation Podcast

Show Notes: Writing can be a powerful tool for expressing intense emotions, including grief. Whether it's through journaling, letters, or other forms of written communication, putting our thoughts and feelings into words can provide solace and support during the grieving process. In the context of organ and tissue donation, writing can play a significant role in facilitating communication between...

Show Notes: Experiencing a health crisis is a daunting journey filled with uncertainties. Lisa Bradshaw personally encountered this challenge when she received a cancer diagnosis. She faced it once again while providing care for her husband, Wesley, during his illness and subsequent lung transplant. Lisa's invaluable knowledge and firsthand experience are now shared through the Take Good Care App...

Show Notes: Saving lives and educating the public about preventable deaths is part of our podcast’s mission. In this episode, we partner with our friends from the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office and the Louisiana Office of Public Health to talk about gun safety. Chris Knoblauch and Kristen Sanderson join us in the studio to talk about practical preventative measures to keep firearms safe, and...

Show Notes: How does a family make a decision about donation, when their loved one's wishes about being a donor are unknown? Our guest, Jessica Andrade, shares the details of her family's intense discussions about making the decision to donate, and how her younger brother was able to save the lives of 4 people and hundreds with his tissue, skin and valves. Hear this powerful story, and learn about...

Show Notes: In the second episode in our 2 part series, we continue our conversation about the world's first HIV+ heart transplant . Recipient, Miriam Nieves, who along with her husband, Julio, share the intimate details of her journey through her illness. Hear more about the transplant that made history and how it brought Miriam full circle with the opportunity to meet her donor's family. In our...

Show Notes: In November of 2022, a groundbreaking HIV+ heart transplant was announced at Montefiore Medical Center. LOPA was the first OPO in the world to recover an HIV+ heart for transplant . The heart was recovered from a Louisiana donor hero, Brittany Newton, and transported to New York. In this first episode of a two part series, Dr. Omar Saeed , Cardiovascular Disease and Transplant Surgeon...

Show Notes: We talk to donor mom, Reecie Gilmore, who turned her experience with the loss of her young son into a mission to help others. Learn about The RescYou Group , the mission, their community and the services offered to grieving families. In our mental health moment, we chat about how to maintain balance in your mental health journey by using the 4-legged stool method, and honor hero Kaisen...

Show Notes: We reconnect with previous guests on episodes 160 and 169 , Mark and Lynn Scotch, whose chance meeting during a leisure trip to Louisiana, saved another man's life through the living kidney donor voucher program . You don't want to miss the updates to their remarkable saga and learn where The Organ Trail has taken this inspiring couple now. Then we chat about different stages of change...

Show Notes: Have you considered giving the greatest gift, the gift of life? We are joined by authors and advocates, Elizabeth Crais , who's a kidney recipient, and Carol Offen , who has donated a kidney to her son. These two ladies have merged forces to help educate through their own life experiences with both kidney disease and living donation. In our mental health moment, we learn tips for being...

Show Notes: A California prosecutor is using his personal story to encourage more people to register as marrow donors. Charlie Huang joins the podcast to talk about how his diagnosis led him to hope, healing and finally, advocacy. Learn about the new law he helped pass to make marrow donation as easy as registering as an organ, tissue and eye donor at California OMVs. In our mental health moment,...

Show Notes: High school sweethearts, Lisa and Reid Barker , are authors of the book DeLivered. They join us to share their unique path and how organ donation has made an incredible impact on their lives, through the precious gift of life from a donor hero, and through living donation. In our mental health moment we chat about taking intentional steps in life and self reflection, then, honor hero C...

Show Notes: When a person allows passion to take the lead in their career, life thrives for professionals and the people they serve. Amy S. Peele , a nurse since 1974, discovered her passion for organ donation and transplantation when she kicked off her career as a transplant coordinator. Now, following a 35 year career in transplantation, Amy found a new vehicle for enthusiasm - storytelling. Her...

Show Notes: Following a near death experience and subsequent heart and kidney transplant, Shana Pereira is sharing insights she gained to inspire others to have a better relationship with crisis. Hear how her remarkable story unfolds and how her holiday miracle, through the gift of life, has changed her life and in turn, is inspiring others. We take a moment for mental health to learn tips for lis...

Show Notes: CareDX is using artificial intelligence to help with the timely assessment of the likelihood of rejection in kidney transplant patients. AiKidney helps clinicians to predict kidney failure before it occurs and allows the medical team to make adjustments to reduce the risk of rejection. This fascinating technology is taking transplant care to the next level. Nila teaches us about decisi...

Show Notes: Individuals from multiethnic communities make up the majority of the transplant waitlist in the United States. We welcome two guests to chat about how they are working together towards eradicating multiethnic bias in transplantation. Dr. John Goss , professor and chief of the Division of Abdominal Transplantation at Baylor College of Medicine, and kidney recipient, Eric Figueroa, share...

Show Notes: It’s our 200th episode!!! To celebrate, we invited donor mom, Angie Calamari, and kidney recipient, Brooke Shapre, to the studio to take us on a donation journey that leads us full circle right back to LOPA in an unexpected way. Libbie Harrison, one of LOPA’s Family Support Coordinators, joins in and sets the framework for how this unique story unfolded. Then we chat about how to use s...

Show Notes: A staggering statistic, children from 1 to 4 years of age are at the highest risk for drowning. Drowning prevention is a year-round essential education for all people, adults and parents alike. We welcome Chris Knoblauch with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office and Kristen Sanderson, Injury Prevention Manager, with the Louisiana Department of Health to discuss valuable and necessar...

Show Notes: Grieving is the process of rebuilding following a loss. In this episode we connect with donor mom and author, Autumn Jackson, to hear her story, and learn about her tips for growing with grief . She provides those who are grieving with resources, and she shares her newest outreach efforts through SODA , Student Organ Donation Advocates, at the upcoming Rose Parade. What is schema? We d...

Show Notes: There are currently 57 Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) throughout the United States. In a lively conversation, we connect with passionate President and CEO of LiveOnNY , Leonard Achan, to learn about how the gift of life has changed the trajectory of his career. Hear how his OPO is saving and healing lives in the Empire State, and propelling forward to share how special the gift...

Show Notes: On this episode we learn about an organization facilitating the process of living donation for veterans in need of a transplant and hear from one of the program's altruistic living donors. Veteran and living donor, Lindsay Gutierrez, first tells us how she connected with DOVE Transplant founder, Sharyn Kreitzer who also recently donated her kidney. Sharyn shares the important work her...

Show Notes: The organ transplant recovery process is a crucial time for recipients. Denise Redeker with Heartfelt Help Foundation joins us to share her experience following a heart transplant, and the importance of clean, safe and accessible temporary housing during transplant rehabilitation. Hear how the foundation works to alleviate what is often a financial burden for heart transplant candidate...

Show Notes: August is National Multiethnic Donor Awareness Month, and in this episode we connect with Chavon Trahan, a Tissue Family Advocate with LOPA . Chavon walks us through how she personally connects with multiethnic families to explain the opportunity to give the gift of donation, and how she addresses families' concerns about common myths. Then we discuss ways to recognize that it might be...

Show Notes: We welcome Tara Storch with Taylor’s Gift Foundation , who's a previous guest from episode 43 of The Gifted Life . She re-joins The Gifted Life to talk about Taylor's Gift Kindred Hearts Program and how it is creating a space so that no donor's family ever grieves alone and welcomes them to participate as long as services are needed. In our moment for mental health we offer tips for bu...

Show Notes: Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the #1 leading cause of death in student athletes. Michelle Temple is donor mom to hero Grayson Temple and started Gray’s Army Foundation in honor of her son. The foundation has passed legislation as a way to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest in children and young adults. They also focus on education, providing student CPR training and AEDs to schools in need...

Show Notes: MediGO brings together forward-thinking and caring leaders that share a desire to use technology to digitally transform and revolutionize the organ donation and transplantation process to save lives. Scott Plank, CEO and co-founder of MediGo, shares how the company got started, the uniqueness of the donation/transplantation supply chain and how MediGo is addressing those challenges by...