REIMAGINE Podcast
A new conversation series that explores what it means to care, give and be transformed by our connections with others in the transplant community. Through conversations with clinicians, donor families, living donors, researchers, policy leaders and scholars of compassion and the contemplative traditions, the podcast invites listeners into a space of inquiry and curiosity, where human stories become a doorway into larger questions about meaning and healing.
“The REIMAGINE podcast creates a space where we can explore the complexities of organ donation and transplantation together — not from a place of certainty, but from a place of inquiry,” says host Gabriel Schnickel, MD, MPH, executive director of the REIMAGINE Center and chief of the Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery in the Department of Surgery. “This podcast is also about compassion, generosity and how we support one another through the most vulnerable moments of life. These themes stretch far beyond the walls of a hospital.”
Drawing from over 15 years as a transplant surgeon, Schnickel brings a deeply human lens to each conversation to highlight the hope, loss, generosity and complexity that define both transplantation and the broader human experience.
The series will launch in February 2026 and will be available on all major streaming platforms.
Episode 1 - Why we’re here: Reimagining organ donation and transplantation
In this opening episode, host Gabriel Schnickel MD, MPH, shares his personal journey that led him to create the REIMAGINE Podcast. He reflects on the transformative nature of transplantation, the joy of giving someone a second chance at life, the complexity of a system shaped by great need, great loss and great generosity, and the moments that continue to humble and inspire him. Rather than offering answers, Episode 1 invites listeners into a shared space of curiosity, compassion and honest questioning about what it means to care for one another in the most vulnerable moments of life.
Episode 2 - Two gifts, one heart: A conversation with kidney donor Ann Nguyen
Ann Nguyen shares her story of becoming a living kidney donor. After her friend developed kidney failure, Ann stepped forward to donate a kidney, and years later she returned to UC San Diego to give again, this time donating part of her liver to a child she had never met. She reflects on the gratitude she felt waking up from surgery, the compassion she learned to extend to herself during recovery, and the quiet joy of knowing that two families, and generations to come, will carry forward from her gifts.
Episode 3 - Compassion at the end of life: What palliative care can teach the transplant world
Gary Buckholz, MD, and Kimberly Bower, MD, are pioneers in hospice and palliative medicine at UC San Diego and deeply committed educators in the art of compassionate communication. In this episode, they discuss how palliative care principles can enrich organ donation and transplant conversations and why the future of medicine depends on listening, presence, and humility.
Caregiver Conversations
This live, interactive series is for those who give care before, during and after transplant. Transplant caregivers shoulder profound emotional and practical burdens, yet their experiences often go unseen. REIMAGINE Caregiver Conversations creates a regular space to listen, learn and connect — bringing compassion, mindfulness, and community to those supporting transplant recipients and donors. Each live session blends storytelling, reflection and expert dialogue to honor caregivers and model compassionate communication across the transplant continuum. Stay tuned for future webinar dates!