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A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

washingtonpost.com

91–100 of 143 posts

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#91
post #72
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This back and forth sounds a great deal like "NO U" being shouted on 4chan. Are there any sources, papers or studies indicating whether it is learned, innate or both? Sources and empiricism are what we should be resorting to, not down-votes.

You're not going to find a lot of people jumping through that hoop, given that 5 seconds with Google is all that it takes. This isn't some controversial developmental theory, and this isn't a formal debate.

I am not taking sides. I may even have done some reading up already, but I want to remain neutral.

I want to know why the people going back and forth think one way or the other. If I rely on my own research I might not get the nuance that a psychologist or other person with a vested interest would be able to share.

There seems a great deal smoke but no light in this discussion. This is uncommon here on hacker news, normally sources are appreciated and I frequently see them brought in well before an argument begins, even on extremely casual topics. They often earn an few upvotes too.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#93
post #69
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This back and forth sounds a great deal like "NO U" being shouted on 4chan. Are there any sources, papers or studies indicating whether it is learned, innate or both? Sources and empiricism are what we should be resorting to, not down-votes.

A down-vote instead of a link, I don't know what I expected.

[deleted]

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#94
post #91
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not going to find a lot of people jumping through that hoop, given that 5 seconds with Google is all that it takes. This isn't some controversial developmental theory, and this isn't a formal debate.

I am not taking sides. I may even have done some reading up already, but I want to remain neutral. I want to know why the people going back and forth think one way or the other. If I rely on my own research I might not get the nuance that a psychologist or other person with a vested interest would be able to share. There seems a great deal smoke but no light in this discussion. This is uncommon here on hacker news, n…

Then shed some light on it, don't spend a handful of posts complaining about it while cryptically suggesting the value of your own neutrality and what you might or might not know. Again, this isn't a controversial topic, and just a case of one poster who didn't seem to know about the topic in general, as indicated by believing that one aspect of the Macdonald triad being diagnostic for a child.

So again, if you want to add to the discussion, add to it, don't try to control it.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#97
post #11

I admire the author's selflessness. At the same time, it seemed easier to be selfless as a teenager, probably for similar reasons for why it's easier to draft 18-year-olds than it is 28-year-olds. Given young persons willingness to sacrifice for the greater cause without realizing that life extends well past your 30s and 40s, I wonder if more shouldn't be done to let young donors think of the risks, so that their naï…

> I admire the author's selflessness.

But if he is publicly regretting donating a kidney, won't he be preventing many kidneys from being donated?

I just don't him going public with his opinion as a good thing. It may become something he regrets even more than his kidney donation.

Even the reporter and the post's title is irresponsible. If I were just reading through the headlines, it would influence my feelings about donating a kidney.

Instead, the title could have been "Kidney-donating doc pleads: please register as an organ donor" and have similar content in the post, but with the main point being that people should register to be an organ donor if they die.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big issue with allowing organ markets is that impoverished people can practically be forced to sell their organs.

Why would they be forced to sell their organs?

Because a common occurrence when your poor is: You need $500 to pay for some debt now or a chain reaction will destroy your life. You've taken as much as your family has been willing to lend you and you've taken as much as the system (as much as you can understand it) is willing to loan you. You don't have that money.

Luckily, someone is offering $1,000 for a kidney and you're compatible! You can fix your car / post your bail / pay the loan shark, with $500 left over!

You're pretty much forced to sell your organ at this point. And this point is reached all the time by the economically disadvantaged.

Of course, without the last resort of selling body parts they'd be even more screwed, so I don't know the right thing to implement in this case. Just wanted to answer your question.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#99
post #72
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This back and forth sounds a great deal like "NO U" being shouted on 4chan. Are there any sources, papers or studies indicating whether it is learned, innate or both? Sources and empiricism are what we should be resorting to, not down-votes.

You're not going to find a lot of people jumping through that hoop, given that 5 seconds with Google is all that it takes. This isn't some controversial developmental theory, and this isn't a formal debate.

As a general rule, in scientific circles anyway, the person making an assertion is the one who gets to support it. Asking "Why do you believe that?" is always valid.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#100
post #9

TL,DR: author voluntarily donated a kidney to his stepfather's brother, against the advice of much of his family. Years later, the recipient is doing fine but the author (on his way to becoming a doctor), has reviewed the risks of being a donor and now is nervous about the whole thing.

This is an accurate summary. One thing I'd like to add is that there was nothing that the receiver did that provoked the regret. I read this assuming that something happened that caused it to not be worth it. While this is a good view on this situation, the article is basically a guy saying that his comfort and security to have a long life is more important than the other guy's life. So I assumed that the other guy h…

He's also saying it would be nice to have long term data on donors, which no one is going to disagree with.
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