Episode Title: The Gift of Life: Inside Pediatric Transplants with Dr. Mo Episode Description: Saying “yes” to organ, tissue, and eye donation can change everything. In this episode of This Thing Called Life, Dr. Monique “Dr. Mo” Goldschmidt from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center shares her passion for pediatric transplantation and the journey that brought her to Cincinnati. She reflects on the emotional connections she builds with her young patients and their families, and the extraordinary collaboration among care teams that makes successful outcomes possible. This episode is a moving reminder of the power of compassion, teamwork, and the gift of life. Episode Highlights Host Andi Johnson welcomes Dr. Monique "Dr. Mo" Goldschmidt, Associate Director of Cincinnati Children's Intestinal Transplant Program and attending hepatologist with the Liver Transplant Program. Dr. Mo explains her passion for pediatric transplantation and how liver and intestinal transplant care often overlap, with some children requiring both organs as part of their treatment journey. She shares what initially drew her to Cincinnati Children's, citing its world-renowned reputation and the collaborative culture that inspired her to stay for more than two decades. Dr. Mo reflects on her early fascination with medicine and how her experiences caring for critically ill patients ultimately led her to specialize in transplant medicine. The conversation highlights the unique nature of pediatric care, with Dr. Mo emphasizing that children are not simply "small adults." Their medical, developmental, emotional, and psychological needs require a specialized approach. She discusses the complexity of pediatric transplantation and the importance of a multidisciplinary team that includes physicians, surgeons, nurses, social workers, psychologists, dietitians, therapists, and families. Dr. Mo shares the emotional realities of her work, explaining how deeply invested she becomes in the lives of her patients and how difficult it can be when outcomes do not go as hoped. Andi and Dr. Mo reflect on the joy of watching children recover, grow, and reach milestones that once seemed impossible. Family involvement is a central theme throughout the episode, with Dr. Mo describing how successful transplant care depends on strong partnerships between healthcare teams and caregivers. She offers a glimpse into her daily work, which includes both inpatient and outpatient care, guiding children and families through every phase of the transplant journey—from evaluation and surgery to recovery and long-term follow-up. Beyond patient care, Dr. Mo discusses her commitment to research and collaboration with transplant centers across the country to improve outcomes for pediatric patients. The conversation addresses the challenges posed by declining donor availability and increasing demand for transplantable organs, particularly for children with complex medical needs. Dr. Mo explains the importance of living liver donation and how it can provide life-saving opportunities when deceased donor organs are not readily available. She discusses the unique challenges of intestinal transplantation, one of the rarest and most specialized forms of transplantation, which often requires collaboration among leading medical institutions. The emotional toll of waiting for a transplant is explored, along with the importance of maintaining trust, communication, and hope throughout the process. Dr. Mo identifies the relationships she builds with patients and families as one of the most rewarding aspects of her career, emphasizing the lasting connections that often extend well beyond the hospital. She also highlights the importance of balancing professional responsibilities with personal well-being to remain fully present for patients and families. The episode concludes with a call for greater awareness around organ donation and a reminder that every donor has the potential to transform a child's future. Key Takeaways 1. Children Require Specialized Transplant Care Pediatric transplant medicine is uniquely complex. Children have different physical, emotional, and developmental needs that require highly specialized care and collaboration across multiple disciplines. 2. Transplant Success Depends on Teamwork Behind every successful transplant is a network of physicians, surgeons, nurses, researchers, families, donors, and advocates working together toward a common goal: giving children the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives. 3. Organ Donation Creates Life-Changing Opportunities Whether through deceased donation or living donation, organ donors make it possible for children facing life-threatening illnesses to receive a second chance and achieve milestones they might never otherwise experience. Tweetable Quotes “So it's a, it's a one big package that I really consider my life purpose, taking care of kids with liver and intestinal transplants.” Dr. Mo “Cincinnati Children's Hospital is, in my now biased opinion is the best. It's it brought me here for sure. I've come from Massachusetts, and I came here particularly just for the institution a long time ago, 20 years ago, and I haven't left.” Dr. Mo “I think there's this misconception that kids are just little adults, and that's fundamentally wrong. They're, they're not just little adults, they're their own little human beings.” Dr. Mo “And so that requires a unique skill set than dealing with adults who’s lifestyle is what drives some of the adult diseases, whereas with children it's congenital, it's metabolic, it's genetic, it's immune mediated, and that's a different realm in which you focus in caring for these kids, and then transplant, of course, adds a whole nother layer, right?” Dr. Mo “I struggle with not taking it personally, isn't probably the best way to phrase that, but I take these kids home with me, and they truly become my family, and I think that some would argue that is crossing a boundary with the patients and the families, and I would argue back that I can't do this in the way that they deserve without having that sense of ownership and commitment, and certainly empathy.” Dr. Mo “So, inpatient, outpatient care key, direct patient care is really my main focus.” Dr. Mo “ I find that connection and that trust to be immeasurable, and I think that's the most fulfilling piece for me. I will always show up for these kids. My kids know that I will show up for these kids, and sometimes they show up for these kids, which is really cool, and teaching them altruism and compassion and empathy, the family, the patient relationships, just they're unmatched.” Dr. Mo “But the bottom line is, is it's something that we talk about more now to save the lives of our children, because organ allocation is more and more challenging.” Dr. Mo Resources: Donatelifeky.org https://getoffthelist.org/ https://www.networkforhope.org/ https://www.networkforhope.org/about-us/ https://www.networkforhope.org/stories-of-hope/ https://www.facebook.com/NetworkForHopeOPO https://www.youtube.com/@NetworkforHope. https://aopo.org/ RegisterMe.org/NetworkforHope
