Episodes

What does it mean to truly live? For Julia Renz, that question has never been abstract. A two-time heart transplant recipient, Julia received her first transplant at just four years old after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare condition affecting roughly 8 in 100,000 infants. Despite the weight of that diagnosis, she spent her childhood doing what kids do: dancing, playing baseball, shooting hoops, and living fully. But at 17, her body began rejecting her transplanted heart. For...

What does it mean to truly live? For Julia Renz, that question has never been abstract. A two-time heart transplant recipient, Julia received her first transplant at just four years old after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare condition affecting roughly 8 in 100,000 infants. Despite the weight of that diagnosis, she spent her childhood doing what kids do: dancing, playing baseball, shooting hoops, and living fully. But at 17, her body began rejecting her transplanted heart. For...

🎙️In this episode, we talk about the documentary Abundant and the idea of what it really means to live from a place of generosity instead of scarcity. 💚 I’m joined by Laura Diaz Moore, a living kidney donor who made a major career shift from law to working as a mountain host in Park City, and Donald Griswold, the director of the film. To make the documentary, they put out a call on social media and heard from nearly 80 people willing to share their stories. From there, they selected participants...

🎙️At 35, Stell de Kock was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. Her only symptom at the time was a sore foot. She has now been on dialysis three times a week for 14 years and has spent 13 years on the transplant waitlist. Stell is the Managing Director of Transplant Education for Living Legacies (TELL) in South Africa. In this conversation, she shares what it’s like to live long-term on dialysis while leading national advocacy efforts to improve access to transplantation. We discuss how orga...

Andrew Menard is a retired fourth-grade teacher who inherited polycystic kidney disease from his father. After witnessing the physical and emotional toll of dialysis on his dad, Andrew made a deliberate choice: he would begin looking for a living kidney donor before needing dialysis. Along the way, Andrew received support from many directions. His fourth-grade students and their families became part of the journey through Kids 4 Kidneys , a community-driven effort that helped raise awareness and...

🎙️In this episode of Transplant Talks, living liver donor Maureen Carrig shares the deeply personal story behind her decision to donate. After hearing about the critical need for pediatric liver transplants at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Maureen felt moved to act—and made her decision within just a few days. She describes the nerves of telling people, the weight of choosing something so life-altering, and the quiet certainty that kept her moving forward. Maureen ended up donating to an adult a...

🎙️⭐Don't forget to 👍🏻and subscribe! 🚁When flight nurse Dave lifted off for what seemed like a routine helicopter transport, he had no idea it would end in catastrophe. Moments after takeoff, the helicopter crashed—killing the pilot, leaving Dave with burns over 90% of his body, and injuring his partner, who managed to scramble out. Dave was airlifted once again—this time as the patient—to a burn center where doctors gave him a negative 140% chance of survival. After 397 days in the hospital, cou...

https://strengthofmyscars.com/ 🎙️Today’s guest, Dr. Baimas-George, describes her transplant surgery fellowship as the hardest challenge of her career — one that brought her face to face with the full spectrum of organ donation, including the extraordinary commitment of living donors who undergo surgery they don’t medically need. She calls it “controlled mutilation” — a deliberate act of harm to the body, transformed into the gift of life for someone else. Beyond the operating room, she is equall...

👍Don't forget to like and subscribe! 💚 🎙️In this powerful episode of #TransplantTalks we hear from Kelsey, who was diagnosed with medullary cystic kidney disease at just 17 years old after routine lab work before college revealed she was already in kidney failure. Forced to delay college and begin hemodialysis, Kelsey's journey began with a selfless act from her father, Steve, who became her first kidney donor. When her body rejected his kidney—a devastating blow—Steve channeled his heartbreak i...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, we sit down with Dr. Jeff Druck, an emergency medicine physician and Vice Chair for Faculty Advancement, Transformation, and Wellbeing at The University of Utah. Dr. Druck shares his experience with depression, including the months it took him to recognize that something was wrong, and the painful reality of having suicidal thoughts. He sheds light on the stigma that continues to silence many healthcare professionals and explains how his drive to con...

🎙️Don't forget to like and subscribe!👍🎙️💚 The day after her 50th birthday - also the day after she was convinced she was going to die - Kerre received the gift of life: a liver transplant. Her diagnosis was elusive, with her doctors suspecting Wilson’s disease, a rare condition that usually presents in childhood. Despite the uncertainty and the gravity of her illness, Kerre’s mindset never wavered. Kerre has been accused of having “toxic positivity,” but her optimism has served her well in life ...

In this episode, Dr. Sixto Giusti joins us for an important conversation about the critical yet controversial topic of transplantation in the context of migration, with a particular focus on undocumented immigrants in the United States. Sixto Giusti, MD, FASN is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension and Director of the Hispanic Transplant Clinic. The number of forcibly displaced people has been rising for the past two decades, reaching 117.3 million b...

🎙️leave a review: https://tinyurl.com/5bp9ytx 👍Don't forget to like and subscribe! In this episode of @TransplantTalks-Podcast Dr. Sixto Giusti of @CUAnschutz and @UniversityofColoradoHealth joins us for an important conversation about the critical yet controversial topic of transplantation in the context of migration, with a particular focus on undocumented immigrants in the United States. Sixto Giusti, MD, FASN is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hy...

In this episode of Transplant Talks, @CUAnschutz liver expert, Dr. James Burton talks with us about all things liver related. Have you ever wondered how alcohol leads to liver damage? Or if binge drinking is as bad as daily drinking? What about liver cleanses - are they any good? Is acetaminophen safe when you already have liver disease? How about ibuprofen? And much more! #hepatology #liverhealth @americantransplant Alcohol-related health tools: https://auditscreen.org/check-your-drinking/ http...

In this episode of Transplant Talks, @CUAnschutz liver expert, Dr. James Burton talks with us about all things liver related. Have you ever wondered how alcohol leads to liver damage? Or if binge drinking is as bad as daily drinking? What about liver cleanses - are they any good? Is acetaminophen safe when you already have liver disease? How about ibuprofen? And much more! #hepatology #liverhealth @americantransplant Alcohol-related health tools: https://auditscreen.org/check-your-drinking/ ht...

Emma is 31 years old and a native of Florida. She had worked as a bar manager for most of her adult life. She describes, “I always was too enthusiastic of a drinker and drank more than my friends,” but things got worse during COVID. It was difficult to be home for months, and she found herself just doing shot after shot all day. After COVID, she quit drinking on and off but kept falling back into binge drinking. She would drink around the clock, get very sick, and then stop for a bit. She starte...

Emma is 31 years old and a native of Florida. She had worked as a bar manager for most of her adult life. She describes, “I always was too enthusiastic of a drinker and drank more than my friends,” but things got worse during COVID. It was difficult to be home for months, and she found herself just doing shot after shot all day. After COVID, she quit drinking on and off but kept falling back into binge drinking. She would drink around the clock, get very sick, and then stop for a bit. She starte...

Matison Deaton is a remarkable woman, with perseverance that most cannot even imagine. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 1 1/2 years old, so her life was filled with lots of doctors’ appointments and all kinds of things that kids just shouldn’t have to experience. She knew from a young age that she may one day need a lung transplant. Her doctors didn’t tell her she had kidney disease – she found out from her “after-visit summary” and later learned she would need both a double lung and a kidney transplant. Mattie also found out from her notes that she was estimated to have 5-7 years left to live. It was 6 years into this span that she finally found a transplant center willing to take a risk, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). This was only after being rejected 13 times from other centers, due to being thought to be “too high risk” because she had a multi-drug-resistant lung infection. Mattie says that it was almost “out of spite” that she kept tryin…

Matison Deaton is a remarkable woman, with perseverance that most cannot even imagine. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 1 1/2 years old, so her life was filled with lots of doctors’ appointments and all kinds of things that kids just shouldn’t have to experience. She knew from a young age that she may one day need a lung transplant. Her doctors didn’t tell her she had kidney disease – she found out from her “after-visit summary” and later learned she would need both a double l...

Nic grew up around airplanes his entire childhood - his parents started a charter company right after he was born. He has always wanted to learn to fly, but he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition that required open heart surgery at the age of 15. This meant he was unable to get a pilot medical certificate, so he pursued a sports pilot's license to fly for fun. He became a nurse practitioner and has been working in an ER in rural Iowa for the last 5 years. After years of good health and lot...

Mariela started dancing when she was 12 years old in Ecuador. She trained in the conservatory and then moved to New York City to attend the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. For her, dancing is like breathing, is part of her culture, and is a way of meditation. In 2014, she ended up in the hospital with liver problems, but no one really knew what was going on. Mariela and her family thought it might be related to her emotions and sadness, “something from the soul.” After years of myst...

Mike is a business owner, tattoo artist, and marathoner. He ran the Boston Marathon just 32 days after donating his kidney to a stranger. The same strength and determination that led Mike to pursue sobriety more than ten years ago led him to not even think twice when he learned his friend and running buddy needed a kidney. He donated a kidney anonymously at University of Colorado Hospital ‬ to receive a voucher from the National Kidney Foundation which moved his friend to the top of the waitlist...

Casana Fink is an author, entrepreneur, Miss America Contestant, and organ donation advocate. Casana knows she wants to be a living donor at some point but isn't sure on the right timing. In this episode of Transplant Talks, co-hosts Anastasia Henry and Rachel Davis, MD, talk through this decision with Casana Fink. They discuss the differences between living kidney versus liver donation and explore various concerns and considerations.

Miss Tampa, Casana Fink, is an author, entrepreneur, Miss America contestant, and organ donation advocate. After her father received an organ transplant in 2013, she has devoted herself to championing this cause. Anastasia Henry, Executive Director of the American Transplant Foundation joins psychiatrist and living liver donor, Rachel Davis, MD, to talk with Casana about her own experiences, her advocacy work, and some fun beauty tips!