Patient Innovations

Liver Disease, Organ Donation & the Future of TransplantationLiver disease often progresses quietly—and too many people do not know they are at risk until the disease is advanced.In this episode of Patient Innovations, hosts Rashmi Kandwal and Shannon Stauff bring together the human, clinical and innovation sides of liver disease and transplantation. Transplant recipient MacGregor Nestler shares the experience of becoming critically ill, waiting for a donor liver and rebuilding his life after transplant. Bubu A. Banini, MD, PhD, of Yale School of Medicine and the American Liver Foundation explains the many causes of liver disease, the importance of earlier awareness and how trusted support can help patients and families navigate an overwhelming diagnosis. M. Zeeshan Akhtar, MD, PhD, of the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai explores how machine perfusion, research collaboration and artificial intelligence may help make more donated organs available for lifesaving transplantation.The conversation also makes the case for a Minnesota Liver Health Day: a focused opportunity to increase awareness, encourage people to understand their liver health and connect Minnesotans with credible education, screening conversations and support.In This EpisodeMacGregor's journey from serious liver disease through transplant and recoveryWhy liver disease is often misunderstood—and why stigma can delay careThe many conditions that can lead to liver damage, failure and transplantationHow the American Liver Foundation helps patients and families find education, support and practical guidanceWhy Minnesota needs greater public awareness of liver health and organ donationWhy people should discuss liver-related lab results and risk factors with a healthcare professionalHow organ donation gives patients a second chance at lifeHow machine perfusion can preserve and evaluate donated livers and potentially expand the number of organs available for transplantThe emerging role of artificial intelligence in transplantationWhat gives patients, advocates and clinicians hope for the futureThe Blavatnik Family Foundation's SupportThe Blavatnik Family Foundation made a $5 million gift, pledged over five years, to the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai to expand its organ-perfusion platform. The funding supports new technologies designed to preserve donated organs longer, improve their function and viability, and potentially recover organs that might previously have been considered unsuitable for transplantation. It also supports continued research, an international organ registry and the future use of artificial intelligence to help assess organ quality.Learn more about the Blavatnik Family Foundation's support for Mount Sinai's organ-perfusion work.Meet the GuestsMacGregor NestlerMacGregor is a liver transplant recipient who shares a firsthand account of serious liver disease, the uncertainty of waiting for a donor organ and life after transplantation. His story brings the patient and family experience to the center of the conversation.Bubu A. Banini, MD, PhDDr. Banini is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Digestive Diseases at Yale School of Medicine, Vice Chief for Clinical Research in Digestive Diseases, Translational Research Director of the Metabolic Health and Weight Loss Program and Associate Director of the Clinical and Translational Core at the Yale Liver Center. A transplant-trained hepatologist and physician-scientist, she earned both her MD and PhD in genetics and molecular biology. She also serves on the American Liver Foundation's National Medical Visionary Board. In this conversation, she helps listeners understand the broader liver-health landscape and the importance of prevention, earlier identification, advocacy and support.M. Zeeshan Akhtar, MD, PhDDr. Akhtar is an Assistant Professor of Surgery, Liver Transplant, and of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is an attending liver transplant and hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute and Principal Investigator of the PUMP Consortium. His clinical practice includes liver transplantation, living-donor liver transplantation and advanced hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. His research focuses on machine perfusion and ex vivo organ reconditioning to improve organ preservation, expand access to transplantation and help more donated organs become viable for transplant.ResourcesAmerican Liver FoundationAmerican Liver Foundation Help Center — education, support groups, resource navigation and the national helpline at 1-800-465-4837Donate Life America — organ, eye and tissue donation information and registrationOrgan Procurement and Transplantation Network Patient ResourcesMount Sinai Recanati/Miller Transplantation InstituteBlavatnik Family FoundationMinnesota Department of HealthHealthcareMNAbout Patient InnovationsPatient Innovations, presented by HealthcareMN, explores health conditions through the voices of patients, clinicians, researchers, advocates and innovators. Each episode begins with lived experience and asks what becomes possible when healthcare listens closely to the people it serves.Listen and subscribe: https://healthcare.mn/podcast Contact: [email protected]#PatientInnovations #LiverHealth #LiverTransplant #OrganDonation #Liverdisease #HealthcareInnovation #MachinePerfusion #PatientVoice #BlavatnikFamilyFoundation.

In this episode of the Patient Innovations Podcast, hosts Rashmi Kandwal and Colleen Rogers explore breastfeeding from three perspectives: lived experience, clinical medicine, and maternal health innovation.New mom and content creator Brittany Runck opens up about her fertility journey, a NICU stay with her son Briggs, and what she calls the "middle ground" that doesn't get talked about enough. Dr. Michelle Haggerty, DO, MPH, IBCLC — founder of Fourth Trimester Doc — brings clinical precision to the question of why postpartum care in America is failing mothers, and what it looks like to actually fix it. And Ashley Mooneyham, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Momease Solutions, shares the research behind a 97% dissatisfaction rate with breast pumps — and the startup she built to do something about it.Every feeding path is real. Every mother deserves support.Top Learnings From This EpisodeWhat the "fourth trimester" is and why it matters for maternal healthMatrescence: the birth of a mother, and why it deserves the same attention as adolescenceWhy 60% of maternal deaths happen postpartum — and 85% are considered preventableThe connection between lactation and maternal mental healthWhy breastfeeding reduces long-term risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancersNew clinical data: 10-20% of mothers physiologically cannot fully breastfeedNew treatment guidelines for mastitis (it's inflammatory — not always bacterial)What's wrong with the standard six-week postpartum visit, and what better care looks likeWhy 97% of mothers surveyed were dissatisfied with their breast pump experienceSupporting pumping moms in the workplace: rights, tools, and what employers can doThe NICU experience and the unique breastfeeding challenges NICU families faceFeatured GuestsBrittany Runck — Content creator and new mom sharing her fertility journey, NICU experience with her son Briggs, and the realities of early motherhood. Instagram and TikTok: @BrittanyRunckDr. Michelle Haggerty, DO, MPH, IBCLC of Fourth Trimester Doc — Physician board-certified in family medicine, integrative medicine, and lactation, providing in-home postpartum medical care for mothers and newborns. Currently in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield.Ashley Mooneyham, PhD of Momease Solutions — Co-founder and CEO of a maternal health startup built on the voices of over 2,000 mothers. 2024 Minnesota Cup Grand Prize winner and 2025 HealthcareMN Startup of the Year.Hosted ByRashmi KandwalColleen RogersConnect With Our GuestsBrittany Runck on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanyrunckFourth Trimester Doc: https://fourthtrimesterdoc.comMomease Solutions: https://momease.comPetal Soft Breast Flange on IndieGoGo (launching summer 2026): https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/momeaseResources From This EpisodeFind Lactation SupportILCA Lactation Consultant Directory: https://www.ilca.org/why-ibclc/falcLa Leche League International: https://www.llli.orgLa Leche League of MN and the Dakotas: https://www.lllofmndas.orgMinnesota WIC Breastfeeding Hotline (free): 1-800-708-9010 | https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/wic/bf/index.htmlMaternal Mental HealthPostpartum Support International: https://www.postpartum.netPSI Helpline: 1-800-944-4773 | Text: 503-894-9453PSI Minnesota Chapter: https://psichapters.com/mnMothers on Edge: https://www.mothersonedge.orgMaternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance: https://www.mmhla.orgNICU Family SupportRonald McDonald House Upper Midwest: https://rmhc-uppermidwest.orgEveryday Miracles (MN): https://www.everyday-miracles.orgWorkplace PumpingPUMP Act / FLSA Break Time for Nursing Mothers: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/73-flsa-break-time-nursing-mothersBusiness Case for Breastfeeding (employer toolkit): https://womenshealth.govMamava: https://www.mamava.comMilkMate: https://milkmate.comFeeding Equity and AdvocacyFed Is Best Foundation: https://www.fedisbest.orgBlack Mamas Matter Alliance: https://blackmamasmatter.orgMinnesota Perinatal Network: https://www.mnperinatal.orgFind a DoulaDONA International: https://www.dona.org/find-a-doulaAbout the Patient Innovations Podcast The Patient Innovations Podcast brings together patients, clinicians, innovators, and healthcare leaders to explore how lived experience and human-centered innovation are reshaping healthcare.Listen and subscribe: https://healthcare.mn/podcast Contact: [email protected]#PatientInnovations #Breastfeeding #MaternalHealth #FourthTrimester #BreastfeedingSupport #NICU #PostpartumCare #WomensHealth #HealthcareInnovation #HealthcareMN

Fertility decline often begins earlier than people realize, and the path to evaluation and treatment can feel isolating without the right support. Host Rashmi Kanwal sits down with Dr. April Batcheller, a reproductive endocrinologist, and Rosie Nestingen, founder of Rebloom Health, to talk about what fertility care actually looks like and what is often missing from it. This conversation matters because the earlier patients understand their own bodies and options, the more agency they have when timing and decisions become urgent.TOP LEARNINGS* Why fertility starts to decline noticeably in the early thirties and more rapidly after age 35.* How conditions like PCOS and endometriosis often go undiagnosed for years and quietly affect fertility.* What a first fertility evaluation actually includes, from medical and family history to a hormone panel, an ultrasound of the ovaries and uterus, and a semen analysis for couples.* Why Dr. Batcheller wishes she could meet her patients five years before they end up in her office.* The traditional guideline for seeing a fertility specialist: one year of trying without success if you are under 35, and six months if you are over 35.* The signs that should push someone to seek help sooner, including irregular cycles, known endometriosis, PCOS, a history of pelvic surgery, or a personal sense that something is off.* Why the medical side of fertility treatment is often strong while the emotional and community support around it is missing.* How Rebloom Health pairs people going through fertility treatment with peers who have been through similar experiences.* The difference between peer support, therapy, and medical advice, and why each has its own role.* Why peer support is most useful in the middle of figuring things out, not only after something has gone wrong.* How clinical care and human support need to work together for patients to feel less alone in fertility treatment.FEATURED GUESTS* Dr. April Batcheller -- reproductive endocrinologist who evaluates and treats patients navigating fertility challenges and emphasizes earlier conversations about hormones, cycles, and underlying conditions.* Rosie Nestingen -- founder of Rebloom Health, a peer support network for people navigating fertility, which she built after going through three years of her own fertility treatment.HOSTED BY* Rashmi KanwalCONNECT WITH OUR GUESTS* Rosie Nestingen: https://www.rebloomhealth.comRESOURCESPeer Support Community* Rebloom Health free community: https://www.rebloomhealth.com#PatientInnovations #RebloomHealth #Fertility #FertilityAwareness #ReproductiveHealth #PCOS #Endometriosis #WomensHealth #PeerSupport #HealthcareInnovation #PatientExperience