Hi, I’m Dr. Toby Campbell—a palliative care physician and communication researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For the past twenty years, I’ve studied how doctors and patients navigate tough conversations, especially when facing life-changing decisions. But nothing could have prepared me for one of the most unique and profound discussions in medicine: the request for organ donation.
What makes this conversation so extraordinary? It’s the only time in healthcare where the decision doesn’t directly help the patient but instead gives someone else a second chance at life. These difficult conversations sparked my interest in learning about the nuances of organ donation and the lived experiences of everyone touched by this process. How, where, and when do these discussions happen? How do healthcare professionals prepare for such a massive task, and what language do they use? How do families respond to such requests and make an extremely difficult decision on behalf of their loved ones? Is organ procurement just like any surgery? What do recipients think about organ donors? How do recipients find living donors? And what struggles do they endure before and after receiving an organ?
To explore these questions, I’ve sat down with donor families, transplant surgeons, medical doctors, organ recipients, recovery specialists, and many others who’ve been touched by this journey. Their stories are powerful, surprising, and profoundly moving. I hope you’ll join me as we uncover the heart, the science, and the humanity behind organ donation.
Episode 3- Extraordinary Conversations: Organ Procurement Team
This powerful episode takes a deep dive into the unseen, emotionally charged world of organ transplant recovery where urgency and reverence collide. Host Toby shadows a surgical team on a 2 AM mission to Marshfield to retrieve organs from a donor, revealing the complex logistics, split-second decisions, and profound humanity behind the process.
Every step of organ recovery is a race against time. The recovery team shares gripping stories about the weight of meeting grieving families, the heart-stopping moment when an organ’s viability hangs in the balance, and the sacred ritual of the "moment of silence" where donors are honored not as medical cases but as people whose legacies will save lives.
Surgeons and coordinators open up about the emotional toll of working in the organ recovery field. They share how they compartmentalize grief to do their jobs, only to break down later when a donor’s story hits too close to home. They grapple with ethical dilemmas, like declining an organ that could fail in a recipient, and the bittersweet reality that their work thrives on tragedy. Yet, amid the exhaustion, they find purpose: the indescribable rush of seeing an organ "wake up" in its new body.
The episode closes with a devastatingly beautiful letter from a mother whose 14-year-old son died by suicide, read aloud in the OR, a reminder that every donor was someone’s else world. This episode is a lasting tribute to the invisible heroes who turn loss into second chances.
Your opinion matters! Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts, feedback, and suggestions for the future season of Extraordinary Conversations. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aY7QYrKjGh8g1zE
Featured in this episode: Dr. Jenny Phillip, David Grant, Kaylee Davis, Ashley Wendt, Carissa, Heather Modell, Katie Heuer, Lynn Berg
Episode summary:
This powerful episode takes a deep dive into the unseen, emotionally charged world of organ transplant recovery where urgency and reverence collide. Host Toby shadows a surgical team on a 2 AM mission to Marshfield to retrieve organs from a donor, revealing the complex logistics, split-second decisions, and profound humanity behind the process.
Every step of organ recovery is a race against time. The recovery team shares gripping stories about the weight of meeting grieving families, the heart-stopping moment when an organ’s viability hangs in the balance, and the sacred ritual of the "moment of silence" where donors are honored not as medical cases but as people whose legacies will save lives.
Surgeons and coordinators open up about the emotional toll of working in the organ recovery field. They share how they compartmentalize grief to do their jobs, only to break down later when a donor’s story hits too close to home. They grapple with ethical dilemmas, like declining an organ that could fail in a recipient, and the bittersweet reality that their work thrives on tragedy. Yet, amid the exhaustion, they find purpose: the indescribable rush of seeing an organ "wake up" in its new body.
The episode closes with a devastatingly beautiful letter from a mother whose 14-year-old son died by suicide, read aloud in the OR, a reminder that every donor was someone’s else world. This episode is a lasting tribute to the invisible heroes who turn loss into second chances.
Your opinion matters! Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts, feedback, and suggestions for the future season of Extraordinary Conversations. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aY7QYrKjGh8g1zE
Episode 2: Extraordinary Conversations: Donor families
Episode 2: Extraordinary Conversations: Donor families
Featured in this episode: Claire and Melissa Crichlow, Nikki, Cassie and Matthew Wolfgram, Dr. Joshua Mezrich, Sam Taylor
Summary:
What happens when the unthinkable becomes real? In this emotionally intense episode, we meet the families of Lane, Vivian, and Connor—three young lives cut tragically short, yet forever remembered through the extraordinary gift of organ donation. Through intimate conversations with their loved ones, we hear not just how they died, but how they lived.
We witness the impossible decisions these families faced—how a mother trusted her son’s generous spirit even when he once said organ donation 'seemed weird,' how a father found purpose in ensuring his daughter’s organs could save others, and how a sister’s courage broke the silence when no one else could speak.
This episode will make you laugh through tears and leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to say goodbye.
Featured in this episode: Claire and Melissa Crichlow, Nikki, Cassie and Matthew Wolfgram, Dr. Joshua Mezrich, Sam Taylor
Summary:
What happens when the unthinkable becomes real? In this emotionally intense episode, we meet the families of Lane, Vivian, and Connor—three young lives cut tragically short, yet forever remembered through the extraordinary gift of organ donation. Through intimate conversations with their loved ones, we hear not just how they died, but how they lived.
We witness the impossible decisions these families faced—how a mother trusted her son’s generous spirit even when he once said organ donation 'seemed weird,' how a father found purpose in ensuring his daughter’s organs could save others, and how a sister’s courage broke the silence when no one else could speak.
This episode will make you laugh through tears and leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to say goodbye.
Episode 1- Extraordinary Conversations: Donation Request Specialists
Episode 1- Extraordinary Conversations: Donation Request Specialists
Featured in this episode: Samantha Taylor, Rachel Bledsoe, Dr. Nikole Neidlinger, Dr. Joshua Mezrich, Claire and Melissa Crichlow
Summary:
What happens when a family, in their most shattered moment, is asked to consider organ donation? In this profoundly moving episode, palliative care physician Dr. Toby Campbell explores the delicate, human side of a medical miracle—where grief meets grace, and love outlasts loss.
Through intimate stories like Claire’s, who stood in a hospital hallway as her brother was wheeled away to save strangers’ lives, we witness the raw beauty of families navigating impossible decisions.
Meet the unsung heroes—donation specialists like Sam and Rachel—who guide grieving loved ones with tenderness and compassion, ensuring every ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is a choice made with clarity and peace. From whispered goodbyes to sparkly toenails painted in defiance of sorrow, this episode reveals how modern medicine and humanity collide to create something extraordinary. It’s a reminder that in our darkest moments, we still have the power to give light to others.
Join us for a journey that will break your heart and put it back together again.
Featured in this episode: Samantha Taylor, Rachel Bledsoe, Dr. Nikole Neidlinger, Dr. Joshua Mezrich, Claire and Melissa Crichlow
What happens when a family, in their most shattered moment, is asked to consider organ donation? In this profoundly moving episode, palliative care physician Dr. Toby Campbell explores the delicate, human side of a medical miracle—where grief meets grace, and love outlasts loss. Through intimate stories like Claire’s, who stood in a hospital hallway as her brother was wheeled away to save strangers’ lives, we witness the raw beauty of families navigating impossible decisions.
Meet the unsung heroes—donation specialists like Sam and Rachel—who guide grieving loved ones with tenderness and compassion, ensuring every ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is a choice made with clarity and peace. From whispered goodbyes to sparkly toenails painted in defiance of sorrow, this episode reveals how modern medicine and humanity collide to create something extraordinary. It’s a reminder that in our darkest moments, we still have the power to give light to others.
Join us for a journey that will break your heart and put it back together again.