This is the first in a 3-part Real Leaders series on living organ donation. Our focus is on living kidney donation and the 100,000 people in the United States alone who are waiting for a life-saving kidney donation.

In this episode, 50-year-old Mike Heilbronner talks about his need for a new kidney in his late forties and how he navigated the questions around asking for a living donor to step forward. He also discusses the process by which he ultimately decided to do a "marketing campaign" for a new organ and how an altruistic donor whom he didn't know stepped forward to fill his need.

Learn about voluntary, in-life donation and how it affects recipients in this unique episode of the Real Leaders podcast with Sue Heilbronner.