What if the biggest advances in organ transplantation weren’t just better drugs, but the ability to keep organs alive and working outside the body

Dr. Antonio Di Carlo traces how mentorship, family experience, and the pure magic of reperfusion drew him into transplant surgery. He describes the still astonishing moment a lifeless kidney on ice suddenly produces urine and explains why the technical side of transplant has changed far less than the immunology and preservation science around it.

He walks through the transformative impact of normothermic machine perfusion (especially for livers), emerging gene profiling and cell free DNA tools that may soon predict rejection, and the rapid progress in genetically modified pig organs. The conversation then turns to how he frames transplant discussions with patients, a memorable pancreas kidney recipient whose life was restored, the surprising fitness of many octogenarian candidates, and why a thoughtfully written textbook still offers a “mind frame” that AI cannot replace.

Top 3 Takeaways

• Normothermic machine perfusion has moved organs from ice bucket urgency to assessed, functioning grafts that can wait while the surgical team rests, dramatically improving outcomes, especially for the liver.
• Xenotransplantation is no longer science fiction: genetically modified pig kidneys have approached one year of human survival, and primate data suggest multi year rejection free function is possible.
• Chronological age is a poor proxy for transplant candidacy; functional status and “protoplasm” matter far more, as illustrated by motorcycle riding and company running octogenarians who have successfully received organs.

About the Guest

Dr. Antonio Di Carlo is a professor of surgery with 25 years’ experience in adult and pediatric abdominal organ transplantation. Board certified in general and transplant surgery, he holds an MD from McGill University, a leadership certificate from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. He has authored chapters in the book Care of the Older Adult.

Connect with Dr. Di Carlo

LinkedIn: Antonio DiCarlo MD

About the Host

Dr. Peter Crane is a board certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference, in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

About the Show:

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast; it's a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine. In every episode, physicians share stories of challenge, purpose, and connection so more doctors can stay in medicine and leave it better than they found it.

visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

LMC Series Note:

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day to day realities of life with advanced disease, through candid physician patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Family physician turned entrepreneur Dr. Mike Woo-Ming recounts starting a medical education business during residency in the late 1990s, then walking away from a shareholder position in 2003 after his son’s autism diagnosis so he could be present as a dad.

He later sold a software company, traveled the world, and deliberately returned to medicine by launching cash based longevity practices in Southern California proving physicians can redesign both their careers and their impact.

Top 3 Takeaways

• Starting a simple residency FAQ guide sold by mail in the 1990s taught Woo-Ming that solving real problems creates real businesses and funded his family’s survival when traditional options failed.
• Leaving medicine for seven years after his son’s diagnosis gave him the freedom to be the dad he never had, while keeping his license and eventually returning stronger.
• “Pig headed perseverance” and always betting on yourself let him launch cash based practices against naysayers and now coach other physicians to do the same through Bootstrap MD.

About the Guest

Dr. Mike Woo-Ming is a Mayo Clinic trained family physician, longevity practice founder, CEO of Doctor Podcast Network, coach at Momentum MD, and author. After leaving traditional practice to prioritize family and entrepreneurship, he returned to medicine on cash based terms and now helps physicians build freedom and scale their impact.

Connect with Dr. Mike Woo-Ming

Website: bootstrapmd.com
Podcast: Bootstrap MD (Over 300 episodes)

About the Host

Dr. Peter Crane is a board certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference, in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

About the Show

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast; it's a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine. In every episode, physicians share stories of challenge, purpose, and connection so more doctors can stay in medicine and leave it better than they found it.

visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

LMC Series Note:

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day to day realities of life with advanced disease, through candid physician patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if the biggest barrier to progress in rare cancers wasn’t a lack of ideas but the inability to connect the right people and turn those ideas into real clinical trials?

In this episode of Living with Metastatic Cancer, Dr. Peter Crane sits with Dr. Scott Okuno, and Steven Young, as they describe how their organization (SARC) fills a critical gap left by broader cooperative groups. By acting as a regulatory sponsor and operational hub, SARC enables rapid multi institutional and international trials focused solely on sarcoma.

They detail the Sarcoma Centers Directory, patient advocacy partnerships, embedded patient advocates in every trial, pre ASCO and CTOS meetings, and practical ways researchers and patients can engage especially those with ultra rare subtypes such as solitary fibrous tumor.

Top 3 Takeaways

• SARC uniquely serves as a regulatory sponsor and logistics engine, converting investigator ideas into multi center trials far faster than traditional cooperative group models.
• The free Sarcoma Centers Directory (sarctrials.org) objectively lists high volume multidisciplinary centers so patients and frontline clinicians can quickly access true expertise.
• Patients are embedded in trial design and meetings; subtype specific advocacy groups plus SARC’s own podcasts and resources ensure no one has to navigate rare sarcoma alone.

About the Guests:

Dr. Scott Okuno is a sarcoma medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic Rochester with more than 30 years’ experience and serves as Chief Medical Officer of SARC.

Steven Young is CEO of SARC, he joined five and a half years ago to lead operations, fundraising, and multi center collaboration after building research consortia in solid tumors and blood cancers.

Connect with SARC

Website: sarctrials.org

Podcasts: SARC Talk, and The Journal Club Podcast

About the Host
Dr. Peter Crane is a board certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference, in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

About the Show:
Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast; it's a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine. In every episode, physicians share stories of challenge, purpose, and connection so more doctors can stay in medicine and leave it better than they found it.

visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

LMC Series Note:
Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day to day realities of life with advanced disease, through candid physician patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.