« Med Mal Price Gouging? | Main | Tim Harford on the arts »
How and why Virginia Postrel gave her kidney
Posted by Tyler Cowen on May 20, 2006 at 10:36 PM in Education | Permalink
Comments
Thank you for linking to this story, I found it extremely interesting, knowing someone who might need a kidney transplant someday.
Posted by: Juliette at May 21, 2006 8:50:15 AM
While a third year medical student working on the transplant service I had the pleasure of meeting a young women who had altruistically decided to donate her kidney. She was of no relation or acquaintance to the recipient and had simply decided that she had a kidney to donate. The transplant service had had these kinds of offers before however no one previously had ever followed through or made it through the screening process (mental health issues). She never appeared to falter in her decision, and didn’t seem to have any regrets post operatively. The nurses on the service who had seen numerous family donations in the past described her recovery as remarkable. She was highly motivated to get out of bed despite the post-op pain and get back to her life. Truly a remarkable person and I am proud to have met her. The story can be found in the San Antonio Express news archives under the headline “Kindness of a stranger”.
Posted by: DJB at May 21, 2006 12:18:37 PM
Very inspiring story. I was astonished, too, when I read her brother ran 31 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, then back up again. I now feel officially lazy.
Posted by: scott cunningham at May 21, 2006 4:26:49 PM
The generosity of live organ donors like Virginia Postrel is remarkable. But we wouldn't need many live organ donors if Americans weren't burying or cremating 20,000 transplantable organs every year.
There is a better solution to the organ shortage -- if you don't agree to donate your organs when you die, then you go to the back of the waiting list if you ever need an organ to live.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. About 60% of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven't agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. They do this through a form of directed donation that is legal in all 50 states and under federal law. Anyone can join for free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. LifeSharers has 4,433 members, including over 400 minor children enrolled by their parents.
David J. Undis
Executive Director
LifeSharers
www.lifesharers.org
Posted by: David J. Undis at May 22, 2006 8:39:42 AM
Even if all 20,000 transplantable cadaver kidneys were harvested, the waiting list for transplants would still be huge. Live donors are essential.
When we are serious about something in this country, we spend money on it. The only near-term solution that has a hope of alleviating the current shortage is to pay live donors for their spare kidneys. This can be done directly or through income tax credits (for those who don't want the poor to benefit from the option of being paid for their organs); the funding specifics are less important at this point than the principle. The current shortage of organs is caused primarily by people's misguided (and emotional) rejection of this principle. Marketophobia kills.
Posted by: srp at May 22, 2006 3:36:40 PM
I donated a kidney to my brother earlier this year. I can second what she says about you needing to be quite determined. Doctor's seemed very reluctant to let me donate and kept setting obstacles. Took about a year to finally get them to accept me. I was a bit overweight so they asked me to lose 10kg at first. Then when I did that they wanted another 5kg. Then I went back and they wanted me lose another 10kg. I don't think they really expected me lose it all.
Also, the laproscopic surgery is amazing. I could not believe how little pain I felt. I was up and walking around in a couple of days, although what she say about being exhausted easily is very true. The older style is still used in places and is, I am told, much less pleasant. Overall the experience was pretty good.
Posted by: still working it out at May 22, 2006 7:21:54 PM
beminnelijk serveerster ^^^ bondage videos ^^^ crave amatoriali ^^^ inchiodare amatoriali ^^^ plus frais aventureux trente et un ^^^ sauvage slips ^^^ la plus chaude papa quarante trois ^^^ nue trente cinq ^^^ bello cowgirl inculate ^^^ deciso bionde sesso ^^^ gullig cowboyflicka karlek ^^^ snygg brudar rovpuling ^^^ timido agente di polizia pompino ^^^ ridiculous infermiera orale fotti ^^^ chattes beantes teens ^^^ teens fickmaschine ^^^ portto hapy cunt ^^^ lesbisk portto proteesi ^^^ i boligen knulle ^^^ goy bilde ^^^ seng foto ^^^ herlig tynn ^^^ lesvia avnanismos sto banio ^^^ exipnos gramateas agapi ^^^ chaud maman cliche ^^^ plus frais papa sequence ^^^ to pio drosero tolmiros gios ^^^ zesto tolmiros gios ^^^
Posted by: levan at Sep 8, 2006 4:44:30 AM
Hello all really cool blog
alprazolam fioricet hydrocodone vicodin tramadol xanax valium ultram soma carisoprodol ambien ativan lorazepam propecia adipex didrex cialis levitra paxil meridia viagra wellbutrin clonazepam xenical prozac butalbital phentermine
buy ativan buy adipex buy didrex buy levitra buy cialis buy phentermine buy soma buy tramadol buy diazepam buy carisoprodol buy meridia buy paxil buy valium buy xanax buy ultram buy fioricet tooth whitening online pharmacy alprazolam car insurance payday loan web directory business directory carisoprodol hydrocodone buy vicodin
Posted by: linda at Oct 9, 2006 5:50:30 AM
Posted by: at Oct 13, 2008 11:38:59 PM
Flyff gold
flyff Penya
flyff money
buy flyff penya
cheap flyff penya
cheap flyff gold
Posted by: aion kina at Mar 20, 2009 11:30:04 PM
