MUSC Health transplant surgeon's TEDx talk earns prestigious Editor's Pick recognition

Nationally recognized transplant surgeon and health care entrepreneur Joseph Scalea, M.D., has achieved a significant milestone. His TEDx talk, “Four Reasons to Live,” delivered this past April at TEDxCharleston, has been selected as an Editor’s Pick – a distinction awarded to less than 0.1% of all TEDx talks. The talk premiered on TED’s national YouTube platform on July 26. In just 24 hours, Scalea’s talk had already received more than 10,000 views. 

“Dr. Scalea’s talk, ‘Four Reasons to Live,’ resonated with our audience in person and online, impressing the TED editors with its passion, originality, delivery and the personal impact it had on a wide range of viewers and TED fans,” said Mike Sottak, TEDxCharleston’s organizer and content curator. “Every year, TED editors select about 40 TEDx talks as Editor’s Picks from a pool of roughly 56,000 TEDx talks. We are thrilled to have Dr. Scalea’s talk elevated to TED.com.” 

Scalea’s work bridges science, medicine, and meaning. Trained at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, including MIT, Harvard Medical School’s Transplant Biology Research Center and the University of Wisconsin, he has dedicated his career to pushing the boundaries of surgery, from cutting-edge transplant logistics to the development of novel surgical devices. His National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research and real-world innovations have directly improved patient outcomes and advanced modern medicine.

 

Notably, his pioneering use of drones for organ transplants, which garnered international attention in 2019, was featured in outlets like JAMA Surgery, the New York Times, NPR, CNN and the Wall Street Journal. This groundbreaking work earned him the 2019 Invention of the Year Award during Baltimore Innovation Week and in 2021, the Visionary of the Year Award from the American Society of Transplantation – both honors recognizing his transformative contributions to the field.

But beyond the operating room, Scalea is also a thinker and storyteller. In “Four Reasons to Live,” he explores a powerful and deeply human question: Why do we choose to go on? 

Drawing on his experiences as a surgeon who has stood with patients at the threshold of life and death countless times, Scalea reflected on the sources of resilience that allow us to persist – even in our darkest moments. In all aspects of his work, he aspires to bring precision, compassion and a steadfast belief in human potential. Whether leading complex surgeries, building health startups or contributing to public conversations about life and meaning, his message is consistent: Even in suffering, there are reasons to live – and we must seek them, name them and hold fast to them.

In his talk, Scalea shared insights from asking more than 100 patients facing organ failure a deceptively simple question just before their life-saving transplants: “Why are we doing this for you today?” 

From these candid conversations – held in the moments before surgery – emerged four recurring reasons people choose life: love from family and friends, purpose through work, the desire to travel and experience the world, and faith in God. These weren’t theoretical or survey-based responses; they were spoken truths from people at the edge of life, expressed with striking clarity.

Delivered with honesty, insight and reverence for the human experience, “Four Reasons to Live” is part medicine, part philosophy and entirely human. Scalea believes it’s a vivid reminder of what truly matters, inspired from those who have been given a second chance at life through transplant surgery.

About TEDxCharleston

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. 

TEDxCharleston is an all-day immersion experience at the intersection of science, art, performance and business. Since its inception in 2013, MUSC-affiliated speakers have had a strong presence, with 22 speakers featured in the lineup to date.