Written by Zoe Engels, Contributing Writer and Editor
Did you know that there are a bunch of podcasts about organ, eye, and tissue donation out there? That’s right! We’re excited about it, too. You can hear organ donor and recipient stories and learn more about donation and advocacy while going about your day-to-day routine. Here’s our list of six podcasts that can help keep you and your community in the loop when it comes to the world of organ, eye, and tissue donation.
A production by the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, The Gifted Life Podcast, hosts conversations about organ, eye, and tissue donation that are informative and entertaining. Often, guest experiences show how they turned grief after tragedy into action through organ donation advocacy. The podcast’s goal is to highlight the transformative power of donation and transplantation while raising awareness for the life-saving gift of donation. New episodes drop bi-weekly on Fridays.
Check out episode 230 of The Gifted Life podcast, featuring our Program Director, Nicole Nidea!
Fun fact: You can go back and listen to previous episodes of The Gifted Life to hear some familiar voices.
In episode 198, SODA Board Member Autumn Toelle-Jackson shares her organ, eye, and tissue donation advocacy journey as well as details about her work with SODA.
Episode 119 traces SODA’s origin story, shared by our founder, Sara Royf.
SODA Board Member Susan Miller (and mom to our founder, Sara!) appears in episode 107 as she discusses her book, Permission to Thrive, and journey through grief following the unexpected loss of her daughter, Laura.
Drs. Colby Salerno, a cardiologist, and Alin Gragossian, an ICU doctor, discuss their view of medicine and transplantation—featuring guests in and outside the medical field along the way—from the perspective of physicians as well as patients. Both are heart transplant recipients. In their episode titled “Giving back to the transplant community. Interview with Craig Smith, heart transplant recipient, and founder of Second Chance Fundraising,” Craig shares information about some of SODA’s student scholarships, sponsored by Second Chance Fundraising. Though not weekly, new episodes typically drop on Mondays.
This podcast spotlights the stories of those who have been impacted by organ, eye, and tissue donation. Host Marion Shuck, who was personally impacted by donation after the tragic loss of her husband, takes listeners into the stories and experiences of donor families and recipients, showing how their stories often come together to chart a new, beautiful path of connection, hope, and healing. New episodes are typically released bi-weekly on Wednesdays.
Brought to you by Donate Life and Tennessee Donor Services, #BeTheGift Connections brings listeners life-saving stories about organ, eye, and tissue donation and transplantations. Episode guests can include healthcare professionals involved in organ and tissue recovery and transplantation, donor families, living donors, and transplant recipients. Though not on a regular basis, new episodes typically launch on Wednesdays.
Learn more about how you can become an advocate for organ, eye, and tissue donation at sodanational.org/students.
This podcast, brought to you by the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, is committed specifically to promoting kidney health and organ donation through the power of conversation and stories. Host Monica Fox is a kidney transplant recipient herself. She is also the Sr. Director of Outreach and Government Relations for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois. For The Journey Continues, she interviews experts committed to advocacy and education, kidney patients, living donors, donor families, and transplant recipients. Episodes are released bi-weekly on Tuesdays.
LifeCenter’s podcast, This Thing Called Life, is, as they say, “a podcast about acts of giving, kindness, compassion, and humanity.” Andi Johnson, LifeCenter’s Director of Public Affairs, brings us stories about organ, eye, and tissue donation from living donors, recipients, families, and frontline workers. They hope these stories and experiences will inspire individuals to register as donors and “remind you that, while life is hard and unpredictable, it’s also beautiful.” New episodes air weekly on Tuesdays.
Bonus: If you’re looking for more podcasts about organ, eye, and tissue donation, check out ARORA’s podcast, RadiEight. Though they haven’t posted new episodes this year, RadiEight has more than 20 existing episodes for you to check out. In these episodes, they share donor and recipient stories. There are endless podcasts for you to choose from, learn, and enjoy!