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Spare a kidney guv?


Gringo

Would you donate a kidney to a stranger?  

29 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you donate a kidney to a stranger?

    • Already have done :smug:
      0
    • On my way to sign up now
      1
    • I'll read the leaflets and then hide them so I don't have to think about it again
      7
    • Not on your nelly
      21


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Linked to Tony's post and this Stranger kidney donations rising

Twenty-two people have given a kidney to a stranger since the practice became possible in the UK two years ago, the body in charge of such donations says.

Ten put themselves forward in the first year and 15 in the second - three of these have not yet undergone surgery.

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA), which decides whether people are suitable, said the numbers were "remarkable".

There are currently 7,000 people waiting for a kidney in the UK amid a serious shortage of donor organs.

.....

Living donations offer a number of advantages over organs given after death.

The quality of the organ is likely to be higher and surgery can be planned in advance.

Evidence suggests that the long-term success rate for the recipient is higher when he or she has received a living organ.

....

A spokesman for Kidney Research UK said: "We welcome the figures but obviously there's still more that should be done to encourage organ donation, especially when you consider that 7,000 people are currently in need of a kidney."

So when it's a child or close family most would be willing to be spliced up. How many when it's someone you've never met?

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Family: yes

Total stranger: I don't think I would. If someone specifically asked me for it (like a doctor said "Stevo, we need your kidney or this person will die") then I probably would. But I don't think I'd put myself forward for it.

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would this just be an altruistic act?

Does having 1 kidney leave you at a health disadvantage over people with 2 kidneys?

do you get paid for donating a kidney?

i'd need to know more about these things before deciding, but i'd guess i wouldn't donate, unless someone i knew/relative really needed it.

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As per Jon I'd like to know the health issues with only having one kidney ..called me old school but I beleive there is a reason we have two of them and it wasn't so we could put one on ebay

I stopped to helped a lady change a wheel on her car today on my way to work , my samaritan kindness kinda stops around that level rather than having bits removed from my body

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would this just be an altruistic act?

Does having 1 kidney leave you at a health disadvantage over people with 2 kidneys?

do you get paid for donating a kidney?

i'd need to know more about these things before deciding, but i'd guess i wouldn't donate, unless someone i knew/relative really needed it.

1) yes, totally altruistic.

2) no health disadvantage, except when you get older if you have problems with your healthy kidney, then you don't have a back-up.

3) No, donate for free. payment not allowed.

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I have had a kidney transplant just over a year ago now. My Dad was the donor so I was very fortunate.

It is a big issue though when it comes to the lack of kidneys. If I was fit and healthy and had two kidneys then yes I would give my kidney to someone else. Having been through dialysis myself I now know what it feels like and what it does to your body over the duration. The kidney I now have may not last very long either, so I'd be hoping that someone I don't know would possibly donate a kidney that matches me if anything ever does go wrong. Hopefully my current kidney will last for many years, but you just never know.

In my own case, I have Alports Syndrome which led to my renal failure. This means that if I have children they will have Alports Syndrome (female being the carrier, male being the sufferer generally). Therefore I could be relying on someone else to give them a kidney donation in the future. I would hope that someone would be kind enough to do so if the case ever came about.

I am not going to say it is an easy choice to give a kidney, yet I do feel it is an extremely overlooked problem. People all focus on Cancer, Aids and other "more important" illnesses. The fact is that having renal failure is a horrible thing to go through. It really damages your body and can lead to death. My lifespan will most likely have been shortened due to having renal failure, which isn't a nice thing to know. Yet that is the reality of it. I just hope that more people will start to donate. I just feel that too many people don't know anything about renal failure. Not through their own fault, yet due to the lack of exposure it gets due to other illnesses.

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I just feel that too many people don't know anything about renal failure. Not through their own fault, yet due to the lack of exposure it gets due to other illnesses.

very true. i don't have a clue.

i didn't know anything about the genetic condition that you described.

thanks for informing us.

i still don't think i could do it though.

Question? isn't getting a kidney through the donor scheme the same? ie: once someone dies?

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I just feel that too many people don't know anything about renal failure. Not through their own fault, yet due to the lack of exposure it gets due to other illnesses.

very true. i don't have a clue.

i didn't know anything about the genetic condition that you described.

thanks for informing us.

i still don't think i could do it though.

Question? isn't getting a kidney through the donor scheme the same? ie: once someone dies?

It's understandable why people wouldn't want to do it. After all you have to go through an operation to do so. However I have the highest respect for people that do such things, as it could keep someone else alive for many more years than they would survive otherwise. Plus it shouldn't harm the health of the donor at all. Therefore the only real risk is going through the operation in the first place. It is a risk though as any operation can be. Therefore the decision to be a donor should not be taken lightly. Yet I believe it is a very important thing and I would encourage people that I know to at least look into it.

Getting a kidney throughout the donor scheme can take longer than if there is a live donor. It is all to do with matching bloods and tissue types. Thus on the list you have to wait your turn, plus the match has to be found. If there are more live donors then there is more chance of finding a match sooner. Plus a live kidney is better than one from a deceased person in most circumstances.

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Question? isn't getting a kidney through the donor scheme the same? ie: once someone dies?

Living donations offer a number of advantages over organs given after death.

The quality of the organ is likely to be higher and surgery can be planned in advance.

Evidence suggests that the long-term success rate for the recipient is higher when he or she has received a living organ.

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Family: yes

Total stranger: I don't think I would. If someone specifically asked me for it (like a doctor said "Stevo, we need your kidney or this person will die") then I probably would. But I don't think I'd put myself forward for it.

This pretty much :)

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do you get paid for donating a kidney?

In the right countries, yes. *cough*India*cough*.

If you were dying from renal failure, would you buy one of these illegal kidneys?

If I was stuck for a kidney I'd buy one, illegal or not.

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Family: yes

Total stranger: I don't think I would. If someone specifically asked me for it (like a doctor said "Stevo, we need your kidney or this person will die") then I probably would. But I don't think I'd put myself forward for it.

This pretty much :)

Like wise

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I would do it if i had a second one to give, i was born with only one functioning Kidney but have never got the other one taken out.

I give blood, i am on the bone marrow transplant list and so i would of been more than willing to give up a kidney if i had one going. I've also done a bit of charity work for the kidney research foundation, and i really do think Kidney problems are some thing that alot of people overlook.

You can function fine with just the one kidney, i go out drinking every weekend and havent really had a problem with it. That said i could see why some one might be afraid of giving a kidney, but i'd think it was worth it safe in the knowledge you had just saved some ones life.

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Voted no purly because I would be fooked as I had part of my left kidney removed due to a tumour a few years ago.

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If I was fully functioning then I probably would to a family memeber not sure about a stranger tho, depends how much the paid me :winkold:

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