Some of the below links no longer work. I am in the process of sorting this out 🙂
Donor Types
There are different types of Living Kidney Donation.
1) Living Donation
This is where a kidney is removed from a living person. They can survive very well on the remaining kidney. Living Donation generally refers to donating to a relative, close friend or someone you know. You can read more about Living Donation here
Download a .pdf leaflet on:- Can I be a LivingDonor
2) Non-Directed or Altruistic Living Donation
This is where a person volunteers to donate a kidney to an unknown recipient, that is, someone whom they have never met or heard about and is not known to him/her. The benefit of this type of donation is that the recipient of the transplant receives a living donor kidney transplant from a healthy donor, which is a very good option for the patient. A non-directed altruistic donor can either donate into the paired/pooled scheme to create a “chain” of transplants or donate anonymously to a patient on the national transplant list to create a single transplant..
Read more about non-directed altruistic donation here
Download a .pdf leaflet on:- Altruistic Living Kidney Donation
3) Paired or Pooled Donation
Paired
Paired donation is where adonor and recipient are incompatible or mismatched with each other. It could be possible for them to be matched with another pair of donor/recipient in the same situation and for the kidneys to be exchanged or swapped. With this type of donation each recipeint receives a transplant that he/she would otherwise not have had. To give you an example:
Couple 1: A = donor – B = recipient
Couple 2: C = donor – D = recipient
A is not a match for B but is a match for D
C is not a match for D but is a match for B
so:
A = donor – D =recipient
C = donor –B = recipient
Pooled
Kidney exchanges can involve more than two pairs at once. This is known as pooled donation.
Read more about paired/pooled donation here
Download a .pdf leaflet on – Paired/Pooled Donation
4) Directed Donation
Directed altruistic donation is when a person offers to donate a kidney or part of their liver to someone who needs a transplant but whom they have not known previously. This is different from non-directed altruistic donation because the relationship between the donor and recipient only develops because the recipient needs a transplant and the donor becomes aware of it and chooses to donate specifically to that person. This may be between family members who have not been in touch for many years or people may make contact through the internet – for example on facebook- or through stories in the paper or radio or television.
Read more about Directed Donation here
5) Â Domino Donation
Domino donation is a form of living donation where an organ or part organ is removed for the primary purpose of a person’s medical treatment. The organ/s removed may prove suitable for transplant into another person (e.g. a heart originally removed from the recipient of a heart / lung transplant).
Useful Links
106 Responses to “Donors”
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Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to ask about kidney donation.I am 31 year old healthy male and would like to sell my kidney,and would like to ask you,how much can i get for this?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards.
Yours faithfully.
Raymond.
Hello Raymond,
Getting paid for your kidney is certainly illegal in the UK, USA and Europe and most other countries. Also you cannot know for sure you are healthy or that your kidney is. People have to undergo many health tests before they can legally donate. This is for your own protection as much as anything. I strong advise against you trying to do this. You also do not know the surgeon or medical team. For a medical person to agree to extract your kidney knowing it is illegal … does not say much for them.
Di
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to ask about kidney donation.I am 31 year old healthy male and would like to sell my kidney,and would like to ask you,how much can i get for this?
Regards.
Yours faithfully.
saachin sannan
Hi Saachin,
How much can you get for your kidney? Well a very large pat on the back and the eternal gratitude of the recipient and their family. You could probably get your out of pocket expenses paid – you need to ask the renal unit about that.
Selling an organ is illegal. Not only that but giving a kidney to some rich person is then depriving a very deserving poor person of getting their life back. If you are going to donate a kidney, do it from your heart – and to someone the hospital says is the most deserving. Do not do it for money.
Normally dodgy surgeons will operate on you leaving you with a huge, unneccessary scar. That will just be what is visible. Infection could set in. Long term complications are not unheard of with donors that have sold illegally their kidney – complications that cannot be rectified.
It is not worth risking your life for. No way. Do you have family? What would they do if you died? Or were left disabled and never able to work because the operation got botched? They would not thank you.
I would beg you not to go down that route because the chances are you will end up regretting it. It may sound like a quick fix to perhaps solving financial problems as I presume that is why you are wanting to sell your kidney …. but long term, you could very well be heading for far worse problems – re your health and family security – that no amount of money could solve. Where would you and your family be then?
Please don’t look to go down that route, I implore you.
With best wishes
Di
raimondas,
I see you have posted a follow up comment but I am not going to authorise it. There are thousands of people in the world that need money. You are not the only one. But they do not do anything illegal to get it, or risk their life for it. I do not and never would condone illegally selling organs. Maybe if you did some good in the world and gave your kidney to someone deserving of it that also has no money, then maybe Good Luck and Blessings will come your way.
Di
Nobody going to sell a kidney,I’ll gonna donate for some kind of compensation.
Some of the people wants to be clever,they want to find a donor for free. Now,the question is,who can donate own kidney for free??? Would you donate your car which is worth it more than ÂŁ20 000???? I don’t think so.
Funny people.
Anyway,don’t mess around and have a good day.
Well Raimondas,
Compensation for what? For you offering to give your kidney. Sorry but noone gets compensated for offering to do something.
You say “who can donate own kidney for free”
Well I can – read my blog. Many people can and have because they love their fellow human beings and they want to help people whose health is suffering. They don’t want paying or compensation or any type of financial reward. The reward is knowing someone has got their life back. That is worth far more than money believe me.
Donating a car is not the same as donating part of your body. Giving a car wont save someones life. Giving a car doesnt harm your own body. It is not a good comparison.
You know raimondas, if someone had offered me money to give my kidney, I would have refused. The thought of only saving someones life or giving them their life back for money actually offends me. Does that mean if a man is drowning I would only jump in to save him if he paid me? No of course not. Giving my kidney for money is not an option.
I do not have a job, I have used up my savings, I am in debt. If I had a ÂŁ20,000 car I would certainly sell it. But I dont care how much in debt I get I would never sell an organ in exchange for giving someone their life back.
Di
Hi Im an Indian Guy who is willing to be a living donor for someone who is in real need of it. I dont want any money I want to help someone who is in real need.
So feel free to contact me if someone is a real need of it.
God Bless U
Hello Taran,
How lovely of you to want to do that …. well what you need to do is contact your local Renal Centre and they can put you through the evaluation tests and then match you with the most needy. They will be the best people to contact to know who is most needy.
Thanks for posting
God Bless
Di
Hello Diane nice to hear it back from u but Im in India and would like to donate My Kidney to someone in UK. Is it possible ?
Which will help me moving to UK as well to be really honest with u. Thats the only thing I want except that I dont want any money or anything else.
I hope this wont be too hard for anyone.
Take care
Hi Taran,
Gosh … I don’t really know. My first impression would be that no, it would not be allowed unless you were already over here. Thing is it is very strict here as to who can donate to who. If you found someone to donate to, I am not sure they would allow you as they would guess your ulterior motive was to come to the UK rather than donate, especially as you would not really even know the person. People already here in the UK, people born here, still have to go through a “vetting” procedure to confirm how long they have known the person and to make sure they are not receiving any benefits (in your case moving to the UK). So I would say it is not going to be possible. Our rules just wont allow it. Also, you see, it has only been legal from the end of 2006 for people to donate a kidney to a stranger and only about 40 or so have happened since then, so it is still in its infancy.
Sorry cannot be more positive for you but that is just the way it works here. It is different in the USA as you can just pick someone from a list and then arrange for the donation to take place once medical evaluations have been done.
All the best
With Blessings
Di
Well Diane I appreciate that you explained me this thing so nicely.
Thanx a lot for being so nice to me and telling me everything.
Well I think its My hard luck in the end.
Many Thanks
Regards
Taran
God Bless u 🙂
Sorry I could not be more positive. I hope that whatever your dreams are for the future will eventually come to you. With dreams comes Hope and we all need Hope.
All the best to you …
Di
Wow, I cannot believe some people find it so hard to understand giving without recieving?? What about the gift of life? Nothing is more important, especially not money.
I hope there are not too many people like Saachin in the world.
Emma
Hi Emma,
I think if you are really struggling financially, especially in poor countries, then offering your kidney in exchange for money can at times seem the only way out of what appears to be an absolutely hopeless situation. Not only that but you get Organ Tourism where people from western countries desperate for a kidney will travel to those countries and offer sums of money in exchange for a kidney. It is very sad this has to happen. This is why it is so important countries get the message across for people to sign the organ donor register. Only about 4 out of 10 (I believe) that are on the register will become eligible to donate. Also the message of living donation needs to be spread. Not necessarily to a stranger but relative to relative.
I think often desperation leads to a lot of people wanting to donate for money. I know a guy from Pakistan who was kidnapped by people who loaned him money at 400% interest, and they forced him to give his kidney as a month’s payment of the loan. I have been campaigning to raise funds to help him pay off rest of the loan. The police and courts were hopeless in this. So very sad …..
Others greed is the motive …… but I wonder how far we would go if we had a family to support, lived in a country that was not blessed with free NHS, unemployment benefit and all the help that the UK gets, what would we do to make sure our family survived and did not starve? I can fully understand why some people in poorer countries offer to sell their kidney and “There but for the Grace of God” I go. I thank the Lord each day for all I have, even the illnesses I have, because I know I live in a country where there is help for me. If I lived in a country where there was nothing, no hope and no future to look forward to, I perhaps would do a lot of things to improve my life that I would not do living here in the UK. When people are desperate they will try almost anything to try and get out of the life rut that they and their family are in. If that means selling a kidney, then to them that is a path to their dreams. We need to walk that mile in someone else’s footsteps to fully understand.
All the best
Di
hello,
I am giving a persuassive speech to get people to want to donate could you possibly give me the list of qualifications that you must pass to be eligable to donate??
Thank you =)
Hi Jackie,
There are no hard and fast rules on who can donate. Even age does not preclude people as someone over 80 donated a kidney to someone. You do though have to be fit and healthy and your lifestyle be stable. Also your husband or wife etc needs to support you. Even if you have a current illness that may not exclude you. Most of all though people need to want to give someone their life back, to make a huge difference to them and their family. Being on dialysis is simply being on life support and getting that call to say a kidney is available is the best gift that anyone could give them.
Donating a kidney leaves you with one kidney. That is no problem. We do not need two kidneys. The remaining kidney grows slightly and takes over the other kidney’s work quite happily.
Kidney disease, generally affects both kidneys, so having only one kidney would not make any difference as to whether you got kidney problem or not. Many people are born with only one kidney and are unaware of that as their life is perfectly healthy with only one.
Not sure if I answered your question there .. but if you read my blog you will find a lot of information there you can use for your speech.
Hope it helps. Let me know how the speech goes, I would be interested.
Di
Hello,
I don’t see why it cannot be made legal to give people some sort of financial reward for donating. Hospital staff get paid so why not the donor.
Hi Theresa,
Offering some sort of payment to donors is a controversial subject that many countries have talked about and still do. I wont go into all the pros and cons I have read about in this post, but I think there are other things that perhaps can be tried first … maybe an opt-out sytem instead of an opt-in … even that raises some peoples objections. Paying donors out of pocket expenses is already allowed.
As for hospital staff getting paid – I presume you mean because they do the operation for the kidney transplant and are part of the process? Well … if they didn’t get paid how do they put food on their table or pay their mortgage. Hospital staff work very long hours and contribute amazingly to our health care and as with any job they need to get paid and deserve all the money they earn. Just because they work in the transplant section should not mean they don’t get paid. No one forces a donor to donate. As soon as a financial incentive comes into the equation, everything is changed. I truly believe that one should not go down that road while other avenues have not been fully explored.
Thanks for posting
Best wishes
~DF~
i’m flabbergasted that some people actually believe they should be paid to donate a kidney. Perhaps they don’t understand the meaning of “donate”. Just giving someone the gift of a better life is reward enough.
Hi Tracy,
I agree with you – donation is just that – donating. Although I do think people should be offered out of pocket expenses. Not every company will pay people for being off work through donation and also travel costs can add up. I don’t think my hospital even mentioned compensating me for out of pocket expenses, though in my case I didn’t really have any so wasn’t an issue.
Di
x
Hello,
I am a 19 year old female living in Britain. I am considering being a living kidney donor, not for anyone I know just for anyone who needs it. My medical history is pretty good, no serious illness but I do get sick alot from minor things and often have high neutrohpils as a result. Is this likely to be a problem if I chose to donate? Also what, in the worst case scenario, could be the side effects of donating? Am I more likely to suffer illness in adulthood or have a shorter life experience? Will it limit my life in anyway? Thanks.
Rachael
Hi Rachael,
Thanks for posting.
Brilliant you are considering becoming a non-directed donor. That is so wonderful.
As for the high neutrophils I cannot even hazard a guess at an answer to that I am afraid. I am not medically trained and have had no previous experience knowledge of that subject. Your best bet is to ring your local Transplant center and ask them, they will be more than happy to discuss any medical issues with you prior to you putting yourself forward to being a donor.
Worst case scenario as side effect of donating?
Well you could die to be blunt. The stats say 1:3000 but the medical people now believe it is lower than that. Noone in the UK has ever died from donating a kidney. The risk is exceedingly low. Lets put it this way during a life time of driving there is a 1:200 chance of a serious accident.
There are other things that can happen as an immediate result of the operation – infection, blood clot – the normal things that might go wrong from most operations. During the recovery process people have reported nerve pain that can last several weeks, depression (similar to post natal), and of course there will be some discomfort/pain in the incision area. As for myself I had incision pain for a short while, very slight infection in one incision which was very minor and good hygeine cleared it up. That was all. Most people have minimal problems. Doing a google will bring up cases of bad side effects some people have had (mainly abroad) but in quite a few cases that I have read there appears to be lack of communication with doctor/patient etc.
Long term …. they say that people who have donated a kidney stand a good chance of living longer than a lot of other people simply because they have to be in really good health before they donate and tend to continue to live healthily afterwards. You should not be prone to suffering illnesses because you have donated.
Some people question whether pregnancy can affect the single kidney – that is something you do need to ask the transplant team. I don’t know the answer or whether any extra precautions need to be taken if pregnant with one kidney.
Will it limit your life at all? Well if you play contact sports, rugby, boxing, or take part in games or activities which could involve an injury to the kidney area then it is suggested you wear a protective belt because with only one kidney left, if that gets damaged you will not have the other one to replace it.
If you had a car accident and your remaining kidney was damaged, that would affect you, but then would the other kidney have been damaged as well? I don’t know. Unlikely scenario but it does happen.
Some people say that being pregnant can put a strain on the kidneys anyway – I do not know if that is true or not. That is something people would have to ask the transplant team.
I was told to keep away from NSAID’s such as ibuprofen and also asprin – as a precaution. That for me was good advice as I tended to take ibuprofen as pain relief and now have swopped that for panadol.
You need to drink sufficient water, which we should be doing anyway. Basically live a healthy lifestyle.
Donating a kidney presents minimal risks, but yes there are risks. Side effects do not happen to everyone and they can vary. The one I hear most about is pain afterwards (like nerve pain) which does eventually stop but can take a while. But only a small percentage of people have that. Again you need to discuss fully with the doctors this aspect. Ask them direct what side effects have been reported to them from “any” living donor. Remember donating to a known person is the same as donating to someone you don’t know.
If you decide to go ahead with donating, and want someone to talk to who has been there, then please do contact me. You can contact me direct via the contact page and I will be there throughout for as long as you want. I feel it is very helpful to be able to chat to someone who knows how you feel, knows the frustrations (i.e. the wait between evaluation tests can seem like a long while sometimes) and can relate to what you are doing. That was the one thing I missed very much when I donated, it felt a lonely experience at times. There are three people at the moment that I regularly chat to as they go through the evaluation process and it can make it so much fun and a very exciting and enjoyable experience and once you have donated it is wonderful to know that there is someone out there who now has a second chance at living a great life.
Let me know how you get on and post here or contact me anytime.
Sorry cannot be of more help, but your best bet would be to make an initial appointment with the coordiator at your transplant unit to put questions to them first before deciding whether you want to donate or not.
All the best
Di
x
I was horrified to begin with when reading about people wanting to sell their kidney. Then I understood when reading your response Di. We take for granted so much all the good things this country offers us and it is easy for us to take the moral highground over others. I have been on some websites where when a person posts selling kidney they are ganged up on by other posters who really are very nasty to them. Di, you show compassion and understanding.
I gave my kidney to my sister 6 years ago. Never regretted it and she is is very well living a very active life. I wish I could donate again to someone in need.
Sheila
Hi Sheila,
Thanks for posting. Great news re your sister and hopefully many years of good health to come. I think that is one comment most donors say, that we wish we could donate again.
People are not going to want to sell a kidney unless they really are in a tight corner. I have spoken with many people from Pakistan who want to sell their kidney and their stories make you cry. The person I tried to help eventualy got out of debt with the help of a charity but what a price to have to pay, to give your kidney in exchange for one months rent so as to keep a roof over your family. Even more disgusting that the police and courts do nothing to stop this from happening. I feel helpless to do anything and that in itself is upsetting.
All the best in the future to you and your sister.
Best wishes
Di
x
Hi, Im a healthy 32 year old woman, and would love to be able to help someone by donating a kidney. Nothing in return except to know that the person receiving it is able to live a happy healthy life.
Please could you be kind enough to forward more info on.
Many thanks
xx
Hi Jennie,
WoW!! Fantastic. I am sending you details via email. To read about the donor angle then please, when you have time, read this website, links on the left take you through each stage of the evaluation/operation/recovery from donor perspective. Will be in touch very shortly and it is so wonderful you are thinking of donating your kidney. I know it was the best thing I have ever done and wish I could donate again.
All the best
Di Franks
x
I have always had mental health problems since I was a child – severe depresion and anxiety. I get disability benefits for it.
Would my mh mean that I wasn’t eligible?
Hi Anna,
I am not medically trained so would not like to answer that one. The Charity I support – Give a Kidney – have people who can advise you on that. As such I have passed your details on to them and someone will get back to you on this.
Sorry I cannot answer myself.
All the best
Di
x
Hi, Im a healthy 29 year old man, and would love to be able to help someone by donating a kidney. Nothing in return except to know that the person receiving it is able to live a happy healthy life.
Please could you be kind enough to forward more info on.
Many thanks
Hi Prabhash,
Can you tell me where you live please? What area?
Thank you
Di Franks
i fink ur all silly, leaving massive scars on your body for a stranger who you dont know, and they could have kidney failure due to their own damn sillyness (i.e drinking). yes i think its good people want to donate but personally i wouldnt do it because you dont know if the receiver would be gratefull or if dey wud jus cause this 1 to fail. also i fink people who want to sell a kidney are within their own rights to sell it,, if they are in major debt then they need to do what they need to do. 🙂
Hi Nath,
Thanks for posting. Your opinion is the opinion of many. Generally because you don’t really understand, so I hope I can explain.
1) Massive Scars. Why do scars matter? It is not our looks that count but the person inside. Apart from which I have lots of scars obtained over the near 60 years I have been on God’s earth. Each scar I have is part of my history. A chapter in my life. A story to be rcounted. The scars I got from donating a kidney are scars I am proud of. Apart from which most scars are not massive. I had keyhole surgery and the largest scar is about 6 inches and hidden bikini line. If you have open surgery then yes a longer scar down the side. But my body to me is just a shell that holds together the person I am. I look at the various scars I have on my body – some I laugh at as perhaps I got the scar through doing something silly as a child, other scars like donating a kidney, I touch with pride and say a prayer for my recipient that they stay healthy for years to come.
2) Recipient. Would they be grateful? Would they cause kidney to fail due to drinking say?
Well, all the people I have met and spoken to who either need a kidney transplant or have had one, are more than grateful for this second chance at life. Most have spent years on dialysis which for many is nothing more than a painful and debilitating life support machine. their families suffer also as they have to stand by and just watch this person suffer and all their lives are put on hold. Most times families are not a match or they would donate kidney to the person. I had two kidneys and really did not need both. yet I could help save someone’s life by giving them one. I don’t care who that person is, we are all God’s children here on earth. People who give their kidney to a stranger do so without any conditions attached.
Drinking actually affects the liver opposed to kidney. I obviously cannot speak for all recipients, but the majority of recipients want to live and they do all they can to have a healthy lifestyle afterwards, which for many is what they had before. Kidney disease is not just due to eating badly etc. Many are born with a hereditary kidney disease, another reason why family cannot donate as they too have the disease.
3) Selling a kidney. So you are saying in effect that not to give a kidney in case the recipient then does something stupid and the kidney fails. Yet it is okay to get into major debt then sell a kidney. What is stopping that person getting into major debt again?
Selling a kidney I truly believe should be out of our love for our fellow human being. I know abroad there are countries where people do sell kidneys … that is for them to decide. But here in the UK it will be a sad day I believe when the NHS hands out money in exchange for an organ. We get paid expenses for out of pocket costs, which is only fair. I would not have accepted money for my kidney as I would have found it hard to live with my conscience on that. I gave a kidney because I wanted to help someone, that was my only reason.
I do understand that some people get so desperate in their life due to heavy debts and having a family to care for that they would willingly sell a kidney. I am not saying they are bad people, not at all, I can truly feel for them, and understand that selling a kidney could be a way out for them. As the saying goes … until we have walked a mile in their footsteps …. it is not for us to judge. I find it very sad for someone to feel they have to sell an organ to get their life on track. There should be other help available.
At the end of the day, Nath, we are not silly. We may have done something that does not appeal to you to do, but that does not make us silly, just makes us different.
We just want to help someone get their life back, simple as that.
All the best
Di Franks
Hi,
I am writing to request some advice. My sister in the Uk is on Dialysis at the moment and my brother from Uganda has offered to donate his Kidney to help her. However i am not sure how to get him here to the UK to do the operation and what support he can get after the procedure as poeple from abroad are not granted NHS support and i am worried about the cost of medications and after care. Could you please advise?
William
Helo William,
I am afraid I do not know the answer to this. You need to get your sister to speak with the transplant team at her hospital and ask their advice. They will know better than most. You could also email mailto:enquiries@nhsbt.nhs.uk and ask the NHSBT the same question.
Wishing you luck with this and hope your sister finds a kidney soon.
Di
I would love to donate my kidney to someone. Please give the risks of the surgery for the donor: I need the details especially on how it is performed.
Thank you
Hello Pri,
If you read the blog entries, starting on the left under “become a donor” you can read about all the evaluation tests, operation and recovery. Yes there are risks. Death is 1:3000. There is also a small risk of bleeding or infection. DVT’s are rare but also a risk. The operation will either be keyhold or open surgery. Recovery is between 3 and 12 weeks depending on type of operation. Please read this blog to find out more details.
Thanks
Di
x
Where is the evidence to say that living donors have on average a longer life??
Hi Natasha,
It has certainly been said that living donors probably live longer than perhaps the average because they have to be fit and healthy to donate so that puts them into the top half of people as to life expectancy. Of course that does not mean that some disease won’t happen in later years, but that cannot be brought into the equations as it is a total unknown. Also bearing in mind that most living donors are more mature adults than young adults.
Hope you are doing well …
Di
x
Personally, I don’t agree. Okay – there needs to be more living donors…all these people who work within the living donation field and who appear quite passionate about their jobs…. Have they themselves considered going through the process themselves – would set a great example to those thinking of donating if they knew that the medical people themselves would do it. Quite a few donors are retired nurses/gp’s – why wait till your retired, the kidneys are needed now. You do not need 2 kidneys!!
You don’t agree that donors are likely to live longer? Why don’t you? what do you have to back that up?
As for medical people donating they do and have. One example springs to mind is Dr John Scoble who is a consultant nephrologist and transplant expert at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Then there is Dr. Paul Gibbs who is a GP but donated mainly because he worked on the renal side of medicine for many years so knows how important it is to get a kidney……now those two did not wait until they were retired. Also don’t forget that it only became possible to donate as from end 2006 with the first altruistic being in 2007. Many people would already have been retired by that time, so they were unable to donate earlier.
Di
I believe that what happens to you in life is already ‘programmed’ into you and nothing can alter that. Maybe all nonsense but that’s what/how I think.
Yes, Im aware of the doctors you named as being donors themselves but wouldn’t it be good to know of more people! The more that come forward, the shorter the wait for people on the list awaiting a transplant. I really do not know why there are not more people wishing to donate.
Natasha
Well if what happens to you in life is already “programmed” then maybe that is why other people don’t donate? It is not “programmed” into them? I can’t say I go along with “programming” but respect your views. You need to understand that not everyone is happy with hospitals and operations. Some people are literally petrified of operations. I have a cousin who wont even go see her mother in hospital because she has a panic attack. I know those are extreme circumstances but even so. And of course some people just dont want to and I respect that. My family would not wish to risk their life and undergo a major operation for a stranger. But instead they help strangers in other ways. We are not all the same in character or the way we think or what our priorities are. If more people signed the donor register then maybe we would not need any live donors at all? I think we stand more of a chance persuading people to sign the register than donate when alive. I also think a lot of people do not wish to put a stranger before their own family. Personally I would not have donated to a stranger had my son still been dependant upon me. I coud not have put a stanger before him. Is that selfish of me? I don’t think so, to me I would have been selfish putting them above my son – But that is just my viewpoint – we all view things differently. But when I decided to donate my son was grown up and fully independant. Also word needs to be spread also. It is not something the NHS can go and advertise, so more publicity is needed, then more people will find out about it and then there will be more people offering.
I don’t believe we are “programmed”. That would mean if we are going to get kidney disease then we might as well eat an unhealthy diet cos we will get ill anyway. It is a known fact that some people are predisposed towards a certain illness but that does not mean they will get it. You don’t agree donors are likely to live longer because they are “programmed”? I think you are missing the point. They are likely to live longer because they are far healthier than a lot of others. Therefore they are more likely to live longer than the average and than those who are not healthy.
I wish our health/life was programmed into us then we could do what we liked knowing it would not hasten our demise.
Greg
Hello Greg,
I think your missing the point Greg, I am only say what I think, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
I do not believe that eating or avoiding certain foods etc will alter the fact that one day our time will be no more. I work in a hospital and have come across lung cancer patients who have never smoked , the patients who do not drink alcohol but have liver cirrhosis.
I admit my diet is very unhealthy according to all news reports etc, I hardly eat proper dinners, drink tea all day long, can’t remember last time drunk water. I do no drink alcohol though. I eat a huge amount of biscuits, sweets, sugar, bacon and sausage sandwiches – but somehow I was fit enough to donate a kidney, and to donate blood.
Make of that what you will.
Natasha
I am not missing the point Natasha and I too am entitled to my opinion, which I voiced.
I think we are all aware that one day we will be no more. No one lives forever, so yes, we will all one day die. It is not only smoking that causes lung cancer or alcohol that causes liver disease and I do not think I ever said that. We are all predisposed to some illness or another. Why does one person get a cold and not another they they are both subjected to the germs? We are not all identical. But I do not believe that we are programmed to die a certain way as I know for a fact that we can change our lifestyle and ward off illnesses. Doctors can cure us of an illness and so we will not die from it. Why should eating too many biscuits and sweets etc prevent you from donating? I don’t follow that scenario. Why should it prevent you from donating blood also? I thought only diseases and illnesses or mental illnesses would prevent one from donating?
Are you fit and healthy on the diet you have? Presumably at the moment you are. I do not know how old you are though. Lets repeat this conversation in 20 years time shall we? Bad diet can take a long time to permeate through to do some damage. On the other hand it may not. But what you said earlier about being programmed – whether you intended it to come across that way or not, I do not know, but the way it came across said that everyone is programmed and nothing we can do about it. Except we can do something about it, as has been proved by doctors and surgeons. My father was dying from lung tumour. He did not smoke he got a tumour though. He had one lung completely removed. He developed asthma which on one lung was not very good for him. He got a tumour in the other lungh. They successfully removed the tumour. He still only has one lung and still has asthma. He should have died years ago but did not. That was 30 years ago and he is still alive today. Presumably he had lung disease programmed into him, but the doctors saved him, so it doesn’t matter what you have programmed into you, you can do something about it a lot of the time. You can also cause death by not living a good life.
So you have your opinions which I respect fully, but please allow me to also have mine. And yes I totally agree that one day we will die and eating or avoiding foods will not prevent us from dying. Will they make us die earlier – yes indeed.
Well I am going to put the cat amongst the pigeons as they say, and say I believe in God and the bible and all that God stands for and in His Word. I believe that God has mapped our lives out, every single part of our life. I also believe that we have a choice in life. That we can come across God’s given path for us but it is up to us to choose to take it or not. I have often had very difficult times in my life and have ended up with choices to make, choices I have found impossible to make. That is when I have turned to God and have then known what path God would want me to take. He has never let me down – though I have let Him down and at times not taken the path He has chosen for me. I also believe this applies to our health also and how we live our life. In a perfect God made life we would not get the illnesses we do, they are all brought on by man over the thousands of years. My health issue (which allowed me to donate) of a non functioning thyroid was brought on by life’s circumstances. But I am also grateful for the 10 horrible years I went through with the illness, 5 of which it took doctors to diagnose me, because had I not had the illness I would not have donated my kidney and had I not donated my kidney I would not be in a position to have helped the many people that have passed through this website requesting my help. I feel Blessed to have had this illness, which having donated my kidney, I then found a doctor willing to treat me when the NHS turned their back on me ….
So … that is my opinion and one I am proud of.
Di
xxx
p.s. Greg am I in contact with your sister? just some things you have said sound familiar with what this lady has said to me?
Yes your right, the word I could not think of at the time is predisposed and not programmed. Â I Â am 40 and I assume I must be fit and healthy in order to have donated a kidney! I’m 40 now and if by my eating rubbish affects me in another 20 years or so then it’s okay. By then I will be 60, who wants to live forever??
Natasha
Sorry Di, I did not realise my error
No problem Natasha, I was looking around for the link to approve it and couldn’t find it, lol, then realised why.
Yes predisposed opposed to programmed – totally agree!!! But I will be 60 in a few months and I would not wish that to be the end of my life, for sure. I only feel half that age!! lol
Di
x
I lived many years in the good old US of A. One aspect that was very noticeable was how the Americans are not embarassed to talk about God or their Faith. In this country it is almost a dirty word to talk about God. Diane I am glad to find you are quite open about your beliefs and not ashamed of talking about them. I too believe in God though am not quite so dedicated as you appear to be. Adam and Eve have a lot to answer for and if I ever meet them up in the land of the Blessed I will tell them just what a mess up of the human race they made!
Juliette? Yes she is my sister. This is why I have come to this website to read up so I can support her.