I was pondering what to write for this week’s blog when I stumbled upon an article in the “Pittsburg Post Gazette” about a 32 person chain that facilitated 16 Living Kidney Donations. The article can be read here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11064/1129864-114.stm.
Each one of the Living Kidney Donors in this chain had wanted to donate to a relative or loved one, but had not be deemed a good match. Facilitated by the National Kidney Registry, these potential donors were able to donate to an unknown individual in need of a kidney. Their donation allowed their loved one to receive a kidney in kind from another such giving donor.
If you are healthy and considering Living Kidney Donation…but are unable to donate to a loved one, this seems like a wonderful alternative. Your loved one is given the gift of life, while you give the same gift to another. As more people are provided with the chance for life in this way, more people with kidney failure, unable to receive a Living Kidney, are provided a greater prospect of receiving cadaver kidneys as they become available. The waiting lists shorten and people in need have the opportunity to truly LIVE.
It feels like the ultimate in what it means to be human--giving some of what you have to help another. I know that not everyone can do this in such a concrete way, and I am not suggesting that everyone should. It just heartens me to see such stories in the news.
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