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In this episode of Donor Diaries, we sit down with Dr. Amy Waterman, a national leader in transplant health services research and patient engagement at Houston Methodist, to talk about what we know about living donors, and what we are still learning.

Amy has spent her career studying how to help patients and living donors make informed, confident decisions. We talk about why long term living donor research takes decades, why comparison groups matter when studying donor outcomes, and why understanding donor motivations is so important when designing education and support programs.

We also talk about something that does not get discussed enough: donors are not all the same. Amy shares three common donor motivation profiles and how understanding these differences helps transplant centers better support donors before and after surgery. We also talk about donor identity, why some donors stay deeply connected to the donor community while others quietly move on with their lives, and what both experiences can teach us.

Finally, we talk about what helps right now. Peer mentoring. Reducing financial barriers. Education that respects that different donors are motivated by different things. And the growing role of digital storytelling, which allows people who are considering donation to hear real voices and real stories in a low pressure way.

This is a thoughtful conversation about research, decision making, and the very human reasons people choose to become living donors.

Dr. Amy Waterman is a national leader in transplant health services research and serves as Director of Patient Engagement and Education at Houston Methodist. Her work focuses on improving access to transplant, supporting informed decision making, and developing education and engagement tools for transplant patients and living donors. She has led numerous research initiatives, including digital storytelling and patient education programs, and has received nearly $30 million in federal grant funding. Dr. Waterman has authored more than 125 peer reviewed publications and has been recognized by the American Society of Transplantation as a Clinician of Distinction.

Links

The Waterman Lab website
Explore Transplant
Living Donor Collective
Livingdonorstories.org

Donor Diaries Website
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GiftWorks Website
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