The Device Girls

What happens to a donor heart after it leaves the body, and what does it feel like to be the person responsible for getting it to its recipient?In this episode of Device Girls, Sarah and Haley sit down with Alan O’Donnell, a pediatric heart procurement and congenital heart reconstruction PA, for a look inside a side of organ donation most people will never see.Alan walks through the heart procurement and transplant process, the race against the clock once a heart is removed, and the responsibility of personally staying with a donor heart until it is implanted and beating again. He also shares the unforgettable case of a donor heart that appeared perfectly healthy, until it beat just a few times after transplant and suddenly stopped.It’s a conversation about the medicine, pressure, heartbreak, and incredible gift behind pediatric heart transplantation, and the reality that one family’s worst day can become another family’s second chance.Subscribe to Device Girls for more conversations from inside medicine that go beyond what you see in the hospital.Don’t forget to subscribe! We drop new episodes every Thursday @3:00pm CST with inspiring stories, expert advice, and real talk designed to elevate women in medicine. ***Views Expressed Are Our Own***Connect with us:Instagram: @sarahekruse @haleygibssonfit #WomenInMedicine #MedicalSales #TheDeviceGirls

In Part 2 of our conversation with Lindley and Ashley, we’re going even deeper into the realities of organ donation — including the questions most people don’t think to ask until they’re suddenly faced with an impossible decision.This episode isn’t about convincing you to become an organ donor or telling you not to be one. It’s about understanding the process, knowing your options, and having the conversations with your family before you ever need them.We talk about the difference between brain death and DCD donation, what being a registered donor can mean for your family’s role in the decision-making process, and why Lindley ultimately chose to unregister herself while still believing strongly in the gift of organ donation.We also pull back the curtain on what families may experience when life support is withdrawn, what happens in the OR, honor walks, the emotional weight carried by healthcare professionals, and the importance of treating donors and their families with dignity through every step of the process.Some of these conversations are uncomfortable. That’s exactly why we believe they’re worth having.Our biggest takeaway? Know what you want. Ask questions. Understand the laws and procedures where you live. And most importantly, talk to the people you love now — because far too many families are forced to make these decisions without ever having had the conversation.This episode is intended for education and conversation and reflects the experiences and perspectives shared by our guests. Organ donation laws and procedures can vary by state and circumstance.Don’t forget to subscribe! We drop new episodes every Thursday @3:00pm CST with inspiring stories, expert advice, and real talk designed to elevate women in medicine. ***Views Expressed Are Our Own***Connect with us:Instagram: @sarahekruse @haleygibssonfit #WomenInMedicine #MedicalSales #TheDeviceGirls

In this episode of The Device Girls, Sarah and Haley sit down with lead organ transplant coordinator Lindley Amsel and honorary Device Girl Ashley Duncan for an unfiltered conversation about the world of organ donation and transplantation.Lindley has worked on both sides of the process, from organ procurement to coordinating transplants, and she takes us behind the scenes of a system most people will hopefully never have to encounter firsthand.They break down how organs are matched and allocated, what makes an organ viable, why donor management looks different from the care of a patient expected to recover, and what actually happens between donation and transplantation.Then they get into the questions people are often afraid to ask: What does being a registered donor actually mean? How much say does your family have? Why does timing matter so much? Who pays for the process? Why can a donated organ still result in enormous transplant costs? And how do you know whether a transplant center is truly advocating for its patients?Lindley also shares the side of transplant medicine most people never see—the middle-of-the-night calls, patients waiting years for an organ, pediatric donation, compassion fatigue, recipients who turn down offers, directed donation, and some of the wildest donor stories she has encountered throughout her career.This episode isn’t about convincing you to become—or not become—an organ donor. It’s about education, asking better questions, advocating for yourself and your family, and having difficult conversations before you’re forced to make decisions during one of the hardest moments of your life.Before you register, make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to—and make sure the people you love know what you want.Don’t forget to subscribe! We drop new episodes every Thursday @3:00pm CST with inspiring stories, expert advice, and real talk designed to elevate women in medicine. ***Views Expressed Are Our Own***Connect with us:Instagram: @sarahekruse @haleygibssonfit #WomenInMedicine #MedicalSales #TheDeviceGirls

What happens when you stop playing it safe and decide to bet on yourself?In this episode of The Device Girls, Sarah and Haley sit down with Dan Payson, CEO and co-founder of All-Stars Surgical Assist, to talk about his journey from the clinical side of healthcare to med device sales, running a neurosurgery practice, and ultimately stepping into entrepreneurship.Dan shares why leaving a successful, comfortable career became one of the best decisions he ever made—and what he learned about risk, networking, problem-solving, and building a business along the way.They also dive into a career path many healthcare professionals don't even realize is available: independent surgical first assisting. Dan explains how providers can leverage their experience and licenses to create more flexibility, build their own book of business, and potentially develop an additional—or even primary—source of income.Dan also breaks down the less glamorous side of going independent: insurance reimbursement, billing, credentialing, navigating different state regulations, and the infrastructure required to actually get paid. All-Stars Surgical Assist was built to handle much of that back-end work so providers can focus on what they do best in the OR. Their current model supports independent surgical first assists with billing, appeals, credentialing support, and predictable payment structures.This conversation is about more than surgical assisting. It's about recognizing the value of your skill set, building relationships, solving problems, taking calculated risks, and realizing that the traditional career path may not be your only option.If you've ever considered entrepreneurship, freelancing, stepping outside of a traditional W-2 role, or simply wondered what else you could do with the experience you already have—this episode is for you.**Connect with Dan & All-Stars Surgical Assist:**📧 [email protected]🌐 https://allstarssurgical.com#TheDeviceGirls #MedDevice #MedicalDeviceSales #HealthcareCareers #SurgicalFirstAssist #HealthcareEntrepreneur #MedicalSales #Entrepreneurship #OperatingRoom #HealthcareProfessionals***Views Expressed Are Our Own***Connect with us:Instagram: @sarahekruse @haleygibssonfit #WomenInMedicine #MedicalSales #TheDeviceGirls

What did heart surgery look like before modern technology, advanced monitoring, and standardized protocols?Lee Aldridge spent more than 43 years in perfusion and witnessed the field evolve from the early days of heart-lung machines to the technology used today. In this episode, he joins the Device Girls to share the stories behind that evolution, including equipment adjusted with wrenches, ice used to stop the heart, 61-hour shifts, early ECMO and LVAD technology, and the trial and error that helped shape modern cardiac surgery.Lee also shares the deeply personal side of his career, including raising a son with congenital heart disease, caring for more than 1,000 pediatric patients, and why he continues teaching the next generation even after retirement.From the terrifying realities of early cardiac surgery to the innovations that now save lives every day, this conversation is a look at just how far medicine has come and the people who helped get us here.🎧 Subscribe to Device Girls for more conversations about medical devices, healthcare, and the people behind them.Follow the Device Girls:Sarah Kruse: @sarahekruseHaley Gibson: @haleygibssonfit