Living Transplant: Patient Stories | Organ Donation | Medical Experts – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Living Transplant postcast, host, Candice Coghlan was joined by Stephanie Dyriw, a living liver donor to her son. Stephanie was put in a situation no parent could ever imagine, when her healthy, three and a half year old son crashed into liver failure with no warning. Within days, Stephanie and the UHN team worked tirelessly to get the testing done in partnership with SickKids to test to find if she would be a match, and thankfully, within mere days, Stephanie became a living liver donor to her son, saving his life. We are later joined by Dr. Nazia Selzner, a transplant hepatologist and Medical Director of the Living Donor Liver Transplant Program at the Ajmera Transplant Centre, and Dr. Cynthia Tsien, Education Director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre. We spoke about diversity, equity and inclusion in transplant, both for professionals and for patients and families. We discussed how equity, diversity, and inclusion in transplant medicine are crucial to ensuring all patients have fair access to life saving treatments, regardless of their background, leading to better overall health outcomes, and how for professionals, fostering an inclusive environment enhances teamwork, broadens perspectives, and improves decision making, ultimately advancing the field and providing more comprehensive care. Please enjoy.

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General or University Health Network.

For more information about Great Actions Leave a Mark, please visit greatactions.ca

For more information about living liver transplant, please visit https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Liver_Transplant_Program 

To register for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Transplant conference, please visit https://deiintransplant.com/ 

Have questions? Comments? Ideas for an episode? Please reach out to the Centre for Living Organ Donation at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca.

Thanks for spending your time with us.

In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host, Candice Coghlan, was joined by Manuel Escoto, the Patient, Family, Donor Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization Director at CDTRP, the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program alongside Sadia Baig, the Programs Coordinator at the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Ontario branch. What is the common thread between the three of us you might be thinking? Well, all of us are not only working in the field of transplant, donation and chronic illness, but we're all living with kidney disease diagnosed at a young age.

We speak about being diagnosed with a chronic disease, the mental and physical roller coasters, working in a professional field that we also have a personal connection to, what it's like to connect with others who are going through something similar, and the importance of advocacy and having a strong network of support. Join the three of us as we dive into these topics in a unique episode where the people with lived experience are also the experts in the field. Please enjoy.

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the offical policy or position of Toronto General or University Health Network. 

For more information about kidney transplantation, please visit www.livingorgandonation.ca 

For more information about CDTRP, please visit https://cdtrp.ca/en/ 

For more information about the Kidney Foundation of Canada, please visit www.kidney.ca 

Have questions? Comments? Ideas for an episode? Please reach out to the Centre for Living Organ Donation at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca.

Thanks for spending your time with us.

In this episode, host Candice Coghlan was joined by Justin Poy, a father, entrepreneur, and businessman who has lived with multiple types of renal replacement therapy since the age of 10, including three kidney transplants, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, as well as home dialysis. Justin spoke about mental health, resiliency, parenting with a chronic illness, and how to appreciate each day. Later we were joined by Dr. Samantha Anthony, the first person to hold the title of Health Clinician Scientist in Canada, Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Social Work, Child Health Evaluative Science Research Institute at SickKids. Together, we explored the medical journey and tools to support children, youth, and families created from the perspective of those who live with it. We also spoke about post traumatic growth and the whole family journey. 

For more information about peer support, please visit https://kidney.ca/support 

For more information about living kidney donation, please visit www.livingorgandonation.ca

For more information about Dr. Samantha Anthony's work, please visit https://lab.research.sickkids.ca/anthony/anthony-lab/ 

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or University Health Network.

In this episode, host Candice Coghlan sat down with Tara Lisabeth, who received not one, but two double lung transplants at a young age. She spoke about life with cystic fibrosis, what it felt like to take deep breaths and how transplant gave her the opportunity to walk down the aisle and get married. Later we were joined by Dr. Marcelo Cypel, the Surgical Director for the Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN and UHN ECLS Program, among many other accolades, who also performed Tara's first double lung transplant. He spoke to us about innovations to expand the donor pool and create more viable lungs for transplant with therapies like light based therapy to inactivate hepatitis C virus, a universal blood type, lung preservation and repair with Ex Vivo, and what it is like leading and being part of a team who has now celebrated the 3000th lung transplant.

For more information about Cystic Fibrosis, please visit: https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Lung_Transplant_Program/Pre-Transplant/Pages/cystic_fibrosis.aspx 

For more information about the UHN Lung Transplant Program, please visit: https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Lung_Transplant_Program 

For more information about the Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System, please visit: https://uhnfoundation.ca/stories/out-of-body-experience/ 

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily relfect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or University Health Network.

In this episode host, Candice Coghlan sat down with Craig Lindsay, the Senior Manager of Programs and Public Policy for the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Ontario Branch. Craig not only works tirelessly supporting this community, but he's also part of it, having lived with diabetes, which eventually caused his kidneys to fail. Craig did home dialysis for many years before receiving a kidney/pancreas transplant, curing his diabetes. Later, we were joined by Dr. Trevor Reichman, Surgical Director of the Pancreas and Islet Transplant Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at University of Toronto. He spoke to us about the life saving and life changing innovation behind pancreas and islet stem cell transplants. We hear about the minimally invasive procedure with islet stem cells, and how the end of type 1 diabetes could be in our near future, changing the quality of life for millions of Canadians.

For more information about the Kidney Foundation, please visit www.kidney.ca

For more information about the Pancreas and Islet Stem Cell Transplant Program, please visit https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Pancreas_Transplant_Program#:~:text=A%20whole%2Dorgan%20pancreas%20transplant,the%20cells%20that%20make%20insulin. 

For more information about Dr. Reichman's stem cell therapy work, please visit https://uhnfoundation.ca/stories/stem-cell-therapy-could-cure-diabetes/ 

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or University Health Network.

In this episode, host Candice Coghlan sat down with Shilpa Raju, an epidemiologist who finished her degree while battling cancer. She survived the cancer, however unfortunately the side effects from her treatment caused severe lung damage, resulting in her need for a double lung transplant. Shilpa spoke about being a young person battling illness and trying to keep a sense of normalcy and positivity through her day to day. Later, we were joined by Dr Mamatha Bhat, a staff hepatologist and clinician scientist at UHN's Ajmera Transplant Program and University of Toronto's division of gastroenterology. She speaks to us about machine learning and AI implications for health care and how it is going to revolutionize the world of transplant and beyond.

To learn more about Dr. Bhat's research in Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning in liver transplant visit:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37208107/ 

For information about living organ donation visit www.livingorgandonation.ca or www.uhntransplant.ca 

You can also reach out to us directly at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca 

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or University Health Network.

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Darryl Wallis, who was diagnosed with Hollow Visceral Myopathy at age one. He grew up in and out of hospitals and unable to eat, but about 16 years ago, he received a multi-organ transplant including a liver, bowel, stomach and pancreas, which gave him his life back. He was able to have a family and become a pharmacist and a few years ago, Darryl's son was diagnosed with the same disease. He also received a multi-organ transplant by the same surgeon, Dr. Anand Ghanekar, who is our expert guest. Dr. Ghanekar's practice focuses on abdominal organ transplantation. He joins us to discuss the rarity of multi-organ transplants and the privilege it is to have the opportunity to restore somebody from certain death to almost a normal life, and the personal connection he has to the success of his patients.

To learn more about the multi organ transplant program visit https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Pages/default.aspx 

Want to register your consent to be an organ donor when you pass? Want to see if you are a registered organ donor? Visit www.beadonor.ca and don't forget to tell your family about your wishes.

You can also reach out to us directly with any questions at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or the University Health Network.

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Amber Needham and her living eye stem cell donor, Kathy O'Toole. They discuss how Amber lost her eyesight twice from unique situations. Amber, Kathy and Candice talk about their remarkable journey as Amber went from 2020 vision to blindness and how she was given a second chance with sight when Kathy donated stem cells from her eye. They are later joined by Amber's ophthalmologist, Dr. Clara Chan, who talks about fascinating innovation in science with stem cell transplants, the healing properties of amniotic membranes, and how her work is a lesson in humanity and the strength of patients. 

To purchase Amber's book, The Blind Girl Sees, visit: https://www.amazon.ca/Blind-Girl-Sees-Seeing-Through/dp/1039136869 

To learn more about Amber's charity work visit: https://uhnfoundation.ca/stories/amber-needham-rides-toward-vision-care-for-all/ 

If you are interested in learning more about stem cell donation you can visit:

https://www.blood.ca/en/stemcells/donating-stemcells/stemcell-eligibility-and-registration 

https://www.uhn.ca/PatientsFamilies/Health_Information/Health_Topics/Documents/Living_Donor_Corneal_Limbal_Stem_Cell_Transplant.pdf 

Or reach out directly to us at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca

The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or the University Health Network.

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Ivica, an opera singer who loves baking, teaching others, and above all else, his family. Ivica discusses his journey with kidney failure and how his brother stepped forward to be his donor, giving him back the strength to sing beautifully. Later we're joined by Margot Mitchell, a retired social worker who worked at UHN for over 20 years. She speaks of the importance of good mental health and how we can all move through grief to gratitude. 

To listen to more of Ivica's singing, check out @onetenorthreekidneys 

If you are looking to connect with Peer Support, visit the Kidney Foundation at https://kidney.ca/Support/Peer-Support 

UHN's Coping with a Transplant manual https://www.uhn.ca/PatientsFamilies/Health_Information/Health_Topics/Documents/Coping_with_a_Transplant.pdf 

Or reach out directly to us at livingorgandonation@uhn.ca to connect with someone to share experiences.

The views and opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect the offical policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or the University Health Network.

Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Charles Cook, an incredibly brave and vibrant person who is a heart and kidney transplant recipient. After far too many close cases with death, Charles has implemented the life motto of ‘keep bangin’. Charles and Candice are later joined by the one of a kind cardiologist, Dr. Heather Ross who is highly decorated with awards like Canadian Geographic’s top 100 Explorers and the Order of Canada. She talks about football, her childhood, Testing Your Limits and why the patient journey to her, is more than just treating the disease.

With special guest Millie, the Myers parrot.

To read more about Charles’ journey, visit: https://www.keepbangin.com/

To read more about Dr. Heather Ross & Testing Your Limits, visit: https://uhnfdn.ca/tyl/

For more information about the ACB Organ Health YouTube Channel, visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFFz8hoKUxTYltN1aX8nghA 

The views and opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toronto General Hospital or the University Health Network.