Asking for a friend: Living organ donations, a gift beyond words
Release Date: 05/22/2023
George Brown College’s 25th annual Mental Health Conference: Decolonizing learning and creating conditions for student well-being
Needs No Introduction
In episode 4, we focus on the upcoming at George Brown College in Toronto and this year’s theme, Thriving Together in the Classroom: Creating the Conditions for Student Well-Being. Author, storyteller, Indigenous academic and conference keynote speaker Carolyn Roberts; dean of the Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies, Susan Toews; and director of Student Well-Being and Support, Alex Irwin discuss this year’s conference and its focus on teaching, the mental health and well-being of post-secondary students, decolonizing learning and Indigenous resurgence through education....
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Oxfam Inequality Report 2025: Billionaire colonialism in Canada
Needs No Introduction
In part two of our focus on Oxfam’s latest report: , we welcome associate professor and faculty chair of the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill University, Dr. Veldon Coburn. Reflecting on his 2022 book (co-edited with David Thomas) , we speak of the growth of billionaire colonialism and corporate power in Canada and the ways in which this is anchored in Canada’s continuing history of settler colonialism. Reflecting on corporate extraction and dispossession of Indigenous resources, Coburn says: “It's easier to steal and to take what's existing there, exactly what the Oxfam Report...
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Oxfam Inequality Report 2025: The takers not makers of billionaire colonialism
Needs No Introduction
In part one of this discussion, executive director of Oxfam Canada Lauren Ravon returns to discuss Oxfam’s latest report: . Ravon and Resh Budhu explore the extreme wealth and power of the billionaire class, this era of “billionaire colonialism” and what it will take to decolonize economies in Canada and throughout the world. According to Ravon: “I would say the highlight of this year's report is really well captured by the title Takers Not Makers, because we're focusing not just on this extreme and I'd say obscene wealth accumulation, not just the amount of wealth that's being...
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Do we need a new progressive alternative in Canada?
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In our season eight premiere, we welcome independent journalist and public historian Taylor C. Noakes, author, political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ricardo Tranjan and welcome back writer, social justice activist and former organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, John Clarke. The group reflects on the current state of progressive politics in Canada, the Liberal legacy and the possibility of a Conservative win. They discuss the need for a new progressive alternative and wonder aloud what this could look like. Reflecting on...
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BRICS, de-dollarization and Canada in a multipolar world
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In our final episode of the Courage My Friends podcast series, season seven, we are joined by author, professor and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Radhika Desai, and author, professor and Chair of International Relations and Political Science at St. Thomas University, Dr. Shaun Narine. We discuss the shifting balance of power in global politics, BRICS, de-dollarization, the rise of Asia and the Global South, the challenges it poses to the rules-based international order of the Global North and Canada’s place within an inevitably...
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Who’s Hungry? More than ever before
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In episode six of the latest season of the Courage My Friends podcast series, co-executive director of Food Secure Canada, Marissa Alexander and executive director of North York Harvest Food Bank, Ryan Noble discuss the alarming outcomes of Toronto’s Who’s Hungry report, the growing food and poverty crisis in Toronto and across Canada and urgent actions that need to be taken by policy-makers and civil society in averting this ever-worsening crisis. Reflecting on reasons for the record number of food banks visits this year, Noble says: “It's not as if there's been a sudden shock over the...
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The Honourable Murray Sinclair: 2018 keynote address on Indigenous Ways of Knowing
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In 2018, the Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College in Toronto welcomed then Senator and former head of the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada, the Honourable Murray Sinclair as its keynote speaker. Through his poignant address about the impacts of Canada’s colonial history and the residential school system on the lives of Indigenous Peoples and the meaning of reconciliation, we experienced first-hand the brilliance, integrity, kindness and humour of this truly remarkable individual. The Honourable Murray Sinclair passed away on the morning of November 4, 2024. In his memory, we...
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Palestinian storytelling as resilience, recuperation and resistance
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In episode four, Palestinian storyteller Sarah Abu-Sharar joins us for our third annual Mouth Open Story Jump Out episode. Through Palestinian folktales and stories of her father, she reflects on the meaning and power of stories within Palestinian resilience, recuperation and resistance. Reflection on her journey into storytelling, Abu-Sharar says: “When I started storytelling, it had to be for Palestine because it was reclaiming my identity. It was a way of saying, the Occupation might have deprived me of my land, of my culture, but I will resist by telling our stories.” About today’s...
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EdTech, AI and platform capitalism in the classroom
Needs No Introduction
In episode three, researcher Dr. Rahul Kumar and political economist Dr. Tanner Mirrlees discuss the rise of education technology and artificial intelligence across colleges and universities, how they impact and disrupt teaching and learning, and how public post secondary education has become an incredibly lucrative business for privately owned EdTech corporations. Reflecting on the impacts of EdTech companies on education, Mirrlees says: “The very same business model that these corporations have developed and advanced in all facets of social life are now being advanced throughout the...
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Truth and reconciliation: How is Canada doing?
Needs No Introduction
Episode two welcomes research director of the Yellowhead Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, Eva Jewell and director of education, outreach and public programming at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Kaila Johnston. As we enter National Truth and Reconciliation Week, we discuss Canada’s progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and the meaning of reconciliation and reclamation in this settler-colonial state. Reflecting on Canada’s progress on reconciliation, Johnston says: “It's been the low hanging fruit or the easy Calls to...
info_outlineOur latest episode of Courage My Friends takes its inspiration from friend and guest William Woolrich as he begins his search for a living kidney donor. He and Candice Coghlan, education and outreach coordinator for the University Health Network Ajmera Transplant Centre and host of the Living Transplant podcast, discuss the search for and ultimate gift of living organ donations.
Speaking to how non-related or anonymous donors can help shorten the organ transplant waiting list, Coghlan says:
“So these are people who have no connection to the recipient at all. They don't know them, but they decide to step forward out of the goodness of their heart, and they donate either a portion of their liver or a kidney to anyone who is in need, who would be a compatible match to them. ..For kidneys also, they can donate into the Paired Exchange Program.. that happens through the Canadian Blood Services; where if someone has a donor who is a healthy, great candidate, but they're not compatible with their recipient, they can go into this "chain" we call it, and they can swap kidneys… There's an algorithm that happens about three times a year that matches people across the country with donors. And so these anonymous donors can also donate into that pool. Which means not only is someone getting a kidney, but it's taking someone off that wait-list as well.”
As Woolrich begins his search for a living kidney transplant, he reflects on the meaning of living organ donations:
“[Even] if you aren't a match for me, you might be matched for someone. And, you know, I can't describe the gift that you would be giving to someone that you may not ever meet. ..you have managed to save their life. I mean, how many of us can say that, that we managed to save a life somehow. And this does that. So I really, really encourage people to get involved. .. Look at the resources that Candice mentioned, that you're going to post, Resh on the podcast. And really consider it. Because it does mean the world to someone. And I think that it provides that sense of altruism, a reward even to the giver as well. There is a feeling that someone can get, that I'm sure is indescribable from having saved a life.”
If you are interested in finding out more or becoming a donor for William or someone else, please visit these links:
Welcome to the Ajmera Transplant Centre (uhn.ca)
Living Donor Transplant Program Donor Health History Form (uhn.ca)
GREAT ACTIONS LEAVE A MARK | UHN
And check out the Living Transplant Podcast (uhn.ca) hosted by Candice Coghlan.
About our guests:
William Woolrich has had kidney disease since he was a teenager as a result of an autoimmune disorder. More recently, he has needed to go on peritoneal dialysis and is hopeful of a transplant. He earned his Doctorate in Education in 2019 from York University. Although currently on long term disability, he is a full-time professor at George Brown College in the Social Service Worker program. He is married and the father of two.
Candice Coghlan is the education and outreach coordinator for the Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre. She is also the host of the Living Transplant podcast. Coghlan not only works in the world of organ donation, but her passion also comes from her lived experience. When Coghlan was 24 years old, she was a crash start onto hemodialysis, with no prior knowledge of renal disease. She did both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. After 15 months, Coghlan’s mother became her kidney donor, giving her a second chance at life. Since then, Coghlan has accomplished many things, including finishing her degree, getting married, travelling, and welcoming a healthy baby girl in 2021.
Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute or here.
Image: William Woolrich and Candice Coghlan / Used with permission.
Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.
Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy); Injila Rajab Khan and Danesh Hanbury (Street Voices)
Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.
Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.
Host: Resh Budhu.