Kidney Hype
Here's a story to warm the heart. Altruistic kidney donation has gone up by 50 per cent! That means that 50 per cent more people have given one of their kidneys so that a complete stranger can have a transplant, an act of extraordinary selflessness. This story was reported almost everywhere, so no point in listing sources.
I hate to inject a sour note, but the 50 per cent increase actually represents a rise of just five would-be donors. Ten people were approved as altruistic donors in 2007-08, and 15 in 2008-09. The trend's in the right direction, but it's hardly time yet to be hanging out the banners.
Tony Woolf (not verified) wrote,
Thu, 25/06/2009 - 11:38
Seems to me that a single year on year change means very little - what happened over the last 5 years?
But donating a kidney to a stranger before death is never going to become mainstream. It requires a major operation and has significant risk. I would bet that most of those who have done it have a close family member who has benefitted from a transplanted kidney, and want to "give something back". Hats off to them, I doubt I would have to guts to do it even in those circumstances. From a sociological point of view, it would be very interesting to know peoples' reasons for donating.
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