What It Means to ‘Procure an Organ’: The Humanity Behind a Clinical Term
Beyond the Phrase “Organ procurement.” It’s a phrase that rolls off the tongue in hospital corridors, written in clinical notes and whispered in team huddles. Yet behind that sterile terminology lies a story of generosity, grief, and profound human connection. For many of us in medicine, procuring an organ is not merely a technical step […]
Maps, Memory, and Migration: How I Charted My Life Across Three Systems
Drawing My First Map As a boy growing up in what was once Yugoslavia, I loved maps. Not just for their geography, but for their order—how roads connected, borders were drawn, and rivers found their way through mountains. I’d sit for hours sketching my own imaginary countries, complete with capital cities, mountain ranges, and transit […]
Relearning Math as a Surgeon: Why Curiosity Never Retires
Returning to the Basics Not long ago, I found myself back in a place I hadn’t visited since medical school—or maybe even high school: a math textbook. At first, it felt strange. Here I was, a practicing transplant surgeon with years of experience, rewatching videos on calculus and scribbling algebra problems into the margins of […]
Volunteering Beyond Borders: What I Learned From Humanitarian Surgery in the Middle East and Africa
An Unexpected Calling When I first began my training in transplant surgery, I imagined a future rooted in the high-tech hospitals of major cities. I pictured bright operating rooms, full of advanced equipment and a well-trained team. What I didn’t expect was that some of my most transformative experiences would take place thousands of miles […]