Recently I joined the Everything Is Personal podcast to discuss living kidney donation, transplant awareness, and the deeply personal journey that led me to donate a kidney to a stranger. What began decades earlier—watching my father endure nine years of dialysis after kidney failure—ultimately shaped my decision in 2017 to become a non-directed living kidney donor. That experience continues to drive my advocacy work today.
During the episode, we discussed the reality of dialysis and why kidney transplantation—particularly living donor transplantation—is considered the gold standard treatment for kidney failure. A living donor kidney typically lasts 15 to 20 years, nearly twice as long as a deceased donor kidney, and recipients often experience better overall health outcomes. Yet more than 90,000 Americans remain on the kidney transplant waitlist, and many people are unaware that healthy individuals can donate a kidney and return to full, active, productive lives.
We also explored the personal and emotional dimensions of donation: the evaluation process, the recovery, the misconceptions surrounding risk, and the meaning that often follows an act of service. My recovery allowed me to return not only to work in emergency medicine, but to endurance athletics—and eventually to join four other living kidney donors in climbing the highest point in all 50 states in 41 days, a record-breaking journey documented in my book, Ascending America. That expedition was designed to demonstrate, in a visible and undeniable way, that kidney donors are not physically limited after donation.
The title of the podcast is fitting—because kidney donation is personal. It affects families, communities, and patients who often feel invisible while waiting for a transplant. My goal in conversations like this is not to sell books, but to increase awareness, reduce fear, and help more people understand that living kidney donation is both possible and profoundly life-changing.
If you are interested in kidney transplant education, living kidney donor stories, dialysis realities, or transplant advocacy, I encourage you to listen to this episode of Everything Is Personal. Expanding awareness is how we shorten the transplant waitlist and save more lives.
If this story resonates with you, I invite you to go deeper.
In Ascending America, I share the full journey—climbing the highest peak in all 50 states alongside four fellow living kidney donors, pushing through brutal conditions, and challenging the limits people assume come with donation. More than an adventure story, it’s a powerful look at the science, resilience, and life-changing impact of living kidney donation.
If you’ve ever wondered what’s truly possible after saving a life—or how one decision can create a ripple effect that impacts dozens more—this book is for you.
👉 Get your copy of Ascending America today and rethink what’s possible.
