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Altruistic Organ Donation: On Giving a Kidney to a Stranger

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

Leonard Fleck  and
Arthur Ward
Leonard Fleck
Affiliation:
Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Arthur Ward*
Affiliation:
Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: award@msu.edu
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Abstract

In the following interview, philosophers Leonard Fleck and Arthur Ward discuss the latter’s recent experience of being a nondirected kidney donor. The interview took place in the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice at Michigan State University.

Keywords

kidneydonationaltruismorgan
Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , July 2022 , pp. 395 - 399
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Notes

1. In 2018, there were 786,000 patients in the United States living with kidney failure. Roughly, 554,000 were receiving dialysis; the remainder were surviving with a kidney transplant. In 2020, there were approximately 90,000 individuals on the national transplant list awaiting a kidney transplant. In 2020, there were 5,725 living donor kidney transplants; in 2019, there were 7,397 living donor transplants. Roughly, 23,000 kidney transplants occurred that year, the remainder being cadaveric transplants. Roughly, 30% of kidney patients on the transplant will either die on the list or be removed from the list to die shortly thereafter. The average wait for a kidney transplant is 2.5–3.0 years. Roughly, 37-million Americans are living with chronic kidney disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States; 2021; available at https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/kidney-disease (last accessed 21 December 2021).

2. Donors must pass a psychological screening. Each transplant center does this differently. At the University of Michigan, every donor must speak with a social worker at the hospital. Non-directed (altruistic) donors have a second, more intensive, screening with a specialized psychologist. This just reinforces the point that they are trying VERY hard to weed out people who might regret their decision.

3. Kierkegaard, S. The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening. Vol. 19. Hong, HV, Hong, EH, trans. and eds. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1980 [1843], at 91.Google Scholar