Living Transplant: Patient Stories | Organ Donation | Medical Experts
Episodes
Eight Weeks for a Lifetime: Megan’s Journey as a Living Liver Donor
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Discover Megan’s powerful story of becoming a living liver donor during the uncertainty of COVID-19—and how one spontaneous “why not?” turned ...
You Don’t Look Sick: Fadia on Invisible Illness, Advocacy, Redefining Life on Dialysis, and the Transplant Journey
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful episode of Living Transplant, Fadia shares her deeply personal journey through kidney disease, receiving a living donor transplant fr...
Behind Every Transplant: Inside Toronto General's Outpatient Transplant Pharmacy
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens after transplant—when the surgery is over and real life begins?In this episode of Living Transplant, we’re joined by Eugenia Chan, a ...
A Second Chance for Love: Emma’s Determination to Donate a Kidney at 79 | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Emma didn’t see herself as brave — she simply saw a problem and knew she could help.At 79 years old, Emma became a living kidney donor for her hus...
International Women’s Day: Dr. Irene Kim on Motherhood, Mentorship & Transplant Leadership
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this special International Women’s Day bonus episode of the Living Transplant Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Irene Kim — abdominal transplant su...
Between Giving and Receiving: Behind the Scene of Kidney Donation with a Kidney Donor Coordinator
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What really happens when someone decides to become a living kidney donor? In this episode of Living Transplant, Candice sits down with UHN living dono...
One Liver for Life: Pediatric Liver Transplants | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant Podcast, host Candice Coghlan speaks with Dr. Blayne Sayed, transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon at SickKids ...
A Toddler Transplant: How Daddy's Liver Saved Camilla's Life | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this heartwarming episode of the Living Transplant podcast, we welcome Bianca and Joseph to share the incredible journey of their daughter, Camilla...
Reimagining Healthcare: Advocacy, Equity, and Dignity with Kamika Sylvester, RN
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful episode of The Living Transplant Podcast, host Candice Coghlan is joined by Kamika Sylvester, RN — nurse, patient advocate, nonprof...
“I See You”: Indigenous Kidney Health, Cultural Safety, and Reimagining Care
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful episode of The Living Transplant Podcast, host Candice Coghlan is joined by Crystal Hardy, a First Nations patient, researcher, and a...
Gift of Life: Reflections from the First 25 Years of a Kidney Transplant Journey | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice Coghlan turns the microphone on the show’s very own producer, Amy Schluter. Amy is a ...
Fifty Years of Kidney Transplantation: Nephrologist Dr. Cole's Perspective on Revolutions in Renal Care
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, Dr. Edward Cole shares his extensive experience in nephrology and kidney transplantation. With a car...
Yes And… The Joy of Imperfection | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Yitzi Gal discusses the significance of practicing failure through improvisation and mistakes in a safe environment, emphasizing...
The Hidden Organ: The Ecosystem of the Gut & Fecal Transplants | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Living Transplant, we sit down with Dr. Susy Hota, an infectious diseases physician and medical director of Infection Prevention an...
A Social Worker’s Perspective: Understanding Addiction, Recovery, Transplant Care | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this powerful episode of Living Transplant, host Candice Coghlan sits down with Sasha, a social worker at Toronto General Hospital, to discuss the ...
Mary’s Journey: Healing Beyond Transplant | Patient Stories, Organ Donation and Medical Experts
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this deeply moving episode of The Living Transplant Podcast, host Candice Coghlan sits down with Mary, a liver transplant recipient whose story emb...
Twice the Gift: Megan’s Double Anonymous Living Donor Story | Patient Stories | Organ Donation | Medical Experts
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this inspiring episode, host Candice Coghlan speaks with Megan Owen-Evans, a rare double anonymous living organ donor. Megan has given both a kidne...
Psychopathy, Altruism and the Gift of Life: Neuroscience with Dr. Abigail Marsh | Patient Stories | Organ Donation | Medical Experts
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Marsh explains the neuroscience of altruism, from the role of the amygdala to genetic influences on empathy. Through Dr. Marsh’...
This Journey is for Life
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice Coghlan is joined by Loi Nguyen; a father, outdoorsman, and all around very positive...
The Other Side of the Hug
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice Coghlan is joined by Winne Jerome who talks to us about her journey as a living donor t...
Take What You Need, Save My Baby
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
We are a Resilient Group
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host, Candice Coghlan, was joined by Manuel Escoto, the Patient, Family, Donor Partnerships and Know...
It's Not Outrageous: Jillian Best's Epic Swim Across Lake Ontario
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice Coghlan was joined by Jillian Best, the first organ transplant recipient and one in onl...
I Don’t Want to Just Survive, I Want to Live
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice, was joined by Dawn Ethier, a police officer and mother of four. Dawn had thyroid cance...
My Mom is My Person
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Living Transplant podcast, host Candice Coghlan was joined by Kelsey Hannah, an OR nurse and mother who went on a journey of he...
A Piece of Me in Heaven
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
WELCOME TO SEASON 5! In this episode, host Candice Coghlan was joined by Vanessa Tait, a Cree woman from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation who put her hear...
Grateful for the Little Things
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host, Candice, is joined by Melissa Sidhu who works in healthcare, is a passionate volunteer and living liver donor to her brother ov...
I Choose Life
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Candice Coghlan sat down with Afsana Lallani, a cat lover and nursing graduate who made a public social appeal to find a living ...
Pressure for Change
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're celebrating Living Donation Week. Host, Candice was joined by Sylvie Charbonneau, past president of the Kidney Foundation of Ca...
Ajmera Transplant Centre's 2nd Annual Education & Research Conference
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Candice, takes you behind the scenes of the Ajmera Transplant Centre's 2nd Annual Education and Research Conference, to hear abo...
I've done this before, I can do it again.
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Candice Coghlan was joined by Justin Poy, a father, entrepreneur, and businessman who has lived with multiple types of renal rep...
Playing with New Lungs
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 abo...
I've Learned to Walk 3x in My Life
08 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Candice Coghlan sat down with Shilpa Raju, an epidemiologist who finished her degree while battling cancer. She survived the can...
Waiting for the Science to Catch Up
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 un...
The Rest of Your Sight Life
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
I Got My Voice Back
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Ivica, an opera singer who loves baking, teaching others, and above all else, his family. Ivica discusses his journe...
The Queen of My Heart Function
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 m...
BONUS: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Paul
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In September, 2022, we launched Great Actions Leave a Mark, a national, multi-year public awareness campaign about living organ donation and transplan...
BONUS: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Ian
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In September 2022, we launched Great Actions Leave a Mark, a national, multi-year public awareness campaign about living organ donation and transplant...
BONUS: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Ashley
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In September 2022, we launched Great Actions Leave a Mark, a national, multi-year public awareness campaign about living organ donation and transplant...
BONUS: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Craig
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In September, 2022, we launched Great Actions Leave A Mark, a national, multi-year public awareness campaign about living organ donation and transplan...
BONUS: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Jaime
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus Episode: Great Actions Leave a Mark - Jaime In September, 2022, we launched Great Actions Leave A Mark, a national, multi-year public awareness ...
BONUS EPISODE: Remember This Living Donation - Len
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus Episode: Remember This Living Donation - Len During Living Donation Week 2021, we partnered with the podcast, Remember This, with host Amanda Cu...
BONUS EPISODE: Remember This Living Donation - Glenna
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus Episode: Remember This- Glenna During Living Donation Week 2021, we partnered with the podcast, Remember This, with host Amanda Cupido to highli...
BONUS EPISODE: Remember This Living Donation - Katie
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During Living Donation Week 2021, we partnered with the podcast, Remember This, hosted by Amanda Cupido to highlight first person living organ donatio...
BONUS EPISODE: Remember This Living Donation - Palma
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus Episode: Remember This- Palma During Living Donation Week 2021, we partnered with the podcast, Remember This, with host Amanda Cupido to highlig...
Cancer Muggles & James Bond
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Natalie Theron, a liver transplant recipient who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer the day before she gave ...
Team Delfina
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by Team Delfina: Betsy Amores, Peter Budziak and their two amazing children, liver transplant recipient Delfina, and bi...
Ordinary People Can Do Extraordinary Things
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Ioanna Roumeliotis, a kidney donor to her brother who lives with Polycystic Kidney Disease. They discuss...
A Whole Family Journey
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Behind the Scenes at the Banff CST Conference
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a special episode of Behind the Scenes at the Banff CST Conference. The conference connects members of the Canadian Society of Transplantati...
There isn’t a heart sitting on a shelf waiting.
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Michelle Rambarran. They discuss Michelle’s journey as a new mom, learning she had spontaneous coronar...
We need more advocates!
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Chris Smith. Chris discusses how he became involved as an organ donation advocate through meeting his pa...
Two Bellybuttons and the End of the Wait List
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 sto...
Listen More and Talk Less
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 trans...
If you’re going through hell, keep going
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 p...
I have parts from everybody
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
One Step Closer to Freedom
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode contains material that might be difficult to hear. Discretion is advised. Host Candice Coghlan is joined by guest host, Tamara Hartl...
Yes, You Can Have a Family
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Kidney Transplant
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts Courtney and Brittany sit down with Indigenous storyteller and kidney transplant recipient, Mary Beaucage for an authentic look at the kidney tr...
Heal in Colour: Black and Brown Bandages
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany sit down with Tianna McFarlane, the founder of Heal in Colour, for something a little different but absolutely necessary. Launch...
My Strange Addiction: Transplant
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Post-liver transplant coordinator, Shauna Watson and post-lung transplant coordinator, Pauline Harney join Courtney and Brittany to discuss their road...
Pain Management and Transplant
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany are joined by Dr. Hance Clarke, Director of Pain Services and Medical Director of the Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Ho...
A Heart Away From Home (part 2)
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 conne...
Heart Away From Home (part 1)
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back to hearts this week with Heather Lannon, Outreach Coordinator for the Centre for Living Organ Donation, PhD candidate and caregiver. Hea...
In Conversation with Transplant Leaders (LIVE)
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of Living Transplant, Courtney and Brittany host Explore a Career in Transplantation, part two of the Ajmera Transplant Cent...
Heart to heart with Mali Worme and Vino Ramachandran
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Living Transplant’s first heart-focused episode, Courtney and Brittany sit down with heart function (not “failure”!) fellow, Mali Worme, and ...
The Fight to End PKD
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Robertson, founder of the PKD Foundation of Canada, joins Courtney and Brittany to talk all things polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Raised by a m...
Sex, Drugs, and Anti-Rejection: the Complex World of Transplant Pharmacy
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Transplant pharmacist, Dipika Munyal guides Courtney and Brittany through the complex world of anti-rejection and immunosuppression (are these….the ...
Let the Sunshine In: The Legacy of Logan Boulet
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Courtney and Brittany are joined by Toby and Bernadine “Bernie” Boulet, the parents of Logan Boulet. In 2018 Logan became an ...
'This is it... I actually need a transplant'
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Diagnosed with lupus in her early twenties, Jennen Johnson’s road to transplant was a windy one. With humour and authenticity, Jennen dives into t...
The Glass is Half Full
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany are joined by kidney transplant recipient and philanthropist, Salah Bachir, his husband, Jacob Yerex, and UHN’s Physician ...
Good Nerdy Fun
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany sit down with living liver donor, Melissa Sidhu to talk research ethics, biliary atresia, and the privilege of good health. ...
It’s Not Magic, It’s Medicine
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany sit down with the hilarious Trevor Hanagan to discuss his journey to becoming a non-directed living kidney donor and his 16-y...
Signed, Your Donor’s Family
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany are joined by Michael Ward, Provincial Lead of Donor Family Services, Trillium Gift of Life Network, Thanatology candidate (Ass...
*BONUS EPISODE* The gift that keeps on giving
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this bonus episode, Living Transplant shares four stories of transplant, organ donation and the holiday season, all woven around an insightful i...
A perfect match
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Floral designer and living donor kidney transplant recipient Claudia Morgan shares her experience living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), po...
‘No’ Was Not an Option: Our History of Transplant Innovation
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Gary Levy and Charmaine Beal walk Courtney and Brittany through the history of the Ajmera Transplant Centre (previously the Multi-Organ Transpla...
Whats Mine is Yours
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany talk transplant with living liver donor Sonia Munoz, and her father and transplant recipient, Jaime. This hilarious duo walk...
Stay Positive, Test Negative: COVID-19 and Transplant
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Courtney and Brittany sit down with Dr. Deepali Kumar, transplant infectious diseases physician in the Ajmera Transplant Centre, to talk transplant an...
Chaos in the Best of Times: Your First Transplant Workup Call
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Colleen Shelton, nurse manager for the multi-organ transplant coordinators in the Ajmera Transplant Centre, explains what’s kept her with the transp...
In the Same Breath: Cystic Fibrosis and Double Lung Transplant
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts Brittany Cole and Courtney Mahrt interview Kadeem Morgan, a 23-year-old double lung transplant recipient living with cystic fibrosis (CF). Kadee...
Introducing Living Transplant
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Living Transplant takes listeners behind the scenes of North America’s largest transplant program - the Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General ...