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A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

washingtonpost.com

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Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#101

Post by M_Grey »

mcguire wrote: post #99
M_Grey wrote: 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.

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.

That question was asked, and answered by several people. "Why do you think that?" and "You haven't cited to my satisfaction, although I've done my research... which I'm not sharing for... reasons..." isn't the same thing at all.

Lets not pretend that it is.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#102

Post by pavel_lishin »

nothrabannosir wrote: post #61
chrisseaton wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could they guarantee that? What if you need to call that right in and they can't find anyone compatible?

There's kidneys, just not for you if you're at the bottom of the list. Compare to kidney exchange ( http://transplants.ucla.edu/site.cfm?id=112 ): if your friend or spouse needs one, but you're incompatible, you can find another pair who has the inverse compatibility problem and swap with them. Or more, and form a chain (e.g. this 35-kidney chain: http://abc27.com/2015/03/30/paired-exchange-record-70-people... ). Wha…

It still seems like it's an exchange, just not an immediate one.

Still, all of those things are excellent ideas.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#104

Post by pfarnsworth »

Well, this article did a good job in scaring me off of donating any organs whatsoever. I currently disallow donating organs upon my death, because I think if I'm a known donor, the doctors might not try as hard to revive me. And now after this, I'm pretty certain I won't take any tests to determine if I'm compatible with anyone needing a kidney.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#105

Post by smcnally »

Kidneys are amazing -- filtering blood, removing excess liquid, regulating blood pressure. And they're redundant! My brother lost one kidney in an accident that also left him paralyzed and with a slew of other problems. Recurring UTI and kidney infections took the other kidney a decade later. When he started on dialysis around 1988, the machine was the size of an Asteroids arcade game. It did half the job of a fist-sized kidney maybe half as well. A few years later, we had a home machine a bit smaller than Asteroids. In 1994, I gave him one of mine (kidneys, not arcade games).

The doctors said if the transplant lasted 10 years, we should be delighted, especially with all his post-accident reconfigured internals. My brother's quality-of-life improved immediately — at least he didn't have to be hooked up to a machine and stationary for several hours at a time. My quality of life was essentially unchanged. The transplant worked well for 22 years. Recurring infections -- kidney, liver, bedsores, staph/mercer -- eventually took their toll. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have done it for "my stepfather's brother" or the like, but I'm glad I did what I could for my brother when I did. I was 23 at the time and now 46. I drink plenty of liquids. My GP's a nephrologist and I have kidney function tests as part of my annual bloodwork. Maybe I'll be pissed if shit goes wrong as I age. With hope I'm still glad I did what I could when I did. And, with hope, the redundancy remains very good.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#106

Post by cpncrunch »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #104

Well, this article did a good job in scaring me off of donating any organs whatsoever. I currently disallow donating organs upon my death, because I think if I'm a known donor, the doctors might not try as hard to revive me. And now after this, I'm pretty certain I won't take any tests to determine if I'm compatible with anyone needing a kidney.

You might change your mind if a first-degree relative has ESRD. (Or perhaps not).

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#107

Post by smcnally »

51Cards wrote: post #43

Honest question. It sounds like the recipient was older so if something were to happen to them (passing from old age, etc) would it be possible to move the kidney back? After all it would be a perfect match... still the same age as the donor, and as long as it hasn't been compromised in any way should still function well.

The organ has had x years in a foreign environment. The new host / donee has taken an ongoing regimen of anti-rejection drugs for the duration to prevent that foreign environment from being overly hostile. The organ is not particularly suitable for re-transplantation even back to the original host.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#108

Post by kelnos »

plan6 wrote: post #97
danso wrote: 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…

Maybe it should influence you. From what it sounds like, he was essentially misled as to how unlikely it is that he could suffer complications down the road. If you (or anyone else) is less likely to donate because of that, perhaps that's a good thing. Not good for the potential recipient, perhaps, but good for you, which is just as important.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#109

Post by smcnally »

colechristensen wrote: post #82
JamesBarney wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest difference between blood and organs is scale. Organs are sold for largest sums of money which means that there is much more money and time available to do full medical work ups and tests to verify the quality of the organs.

As well as a significantly stronger motivation to deceive in order to secure the payout. Assuming that verification procedures against a hostile donor can maintain quality vastly overestimates the tests.

The deception is made more difficult via the significant match screening required. When I donate blood, they ask me a series of questions. I can answer as truthfully as I like. How much testing they do to the whole or processed blood likely differs widely from facility to facility.

Before donating a kidney, I went through half a dozen invasive, detailed medical exams that didn't depend on my given answers at all.

Re: A kidney donor at 18 now regrets it

#110

Post by smcnally »

sean2 wrote: post #98
JamesBarney wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I don't disagree the poor would be targeted or coerced to participate. I do disagree people would be "forced," en masse, to donate organs. I also think removing it as an option misses a lot of opportunities.
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