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I'm donating a kidney to a stranger at the end of September. People seem to think that it's crazy, but I tell them that if I ever need a kidney then they'll lik

I'm donating a kidney to a stranger at the end of September. People seem to think that it's crazy, but I tell them that if I ever need a kidney then they'll likely just be able to grow me a new one by that point. I've been following this stuff lightly for a few years and if you look at the pace of technological progression, especially when it comes to things like mapping the human genome, it's easy to think that in 50 years the face of medicine will have undergone tremendous change.

exratione 12y ago
There are people trying to pick up the pace for complex organs. Fifty years is way too long. See the New Organ initiative, for example. Lots going on there behind the scenes: http://neworgan.org http://neworgan.org Recent progress with the thymus is an unexpected gift. It is expected that achieving the same with other organs is going to be pretty challenging, lacking such a short cut. Hence the need to speed things up: advocacy and alliances and research prizes.
Gustomaximus 12y ago
Off topic, but what made you want to donate a kidney to a stranger? On the surface this seems incredibly altruistic. It's significantly more committed than what many people do and give away a portion of their income. I hope this is not too personal but I'm just curious as to what thinking/events motivated you to do this and how you went about organizing?
- scrabble 12y ago
  I never knew it was possible to donate a kidney to a stranger. Was reading an article about someone who couldn't find a donor and a commenter mentioned that this was a thing. I signed up immediately. I'm healthy, I only need one, and like I said, I figure by the time I actually need one we'll be able to grow one -- but I suspect it won't actually come to that. In that light, it doesn't seem all that altruistic.
  - eru 12y ago
    It's still altruistic (since you still don't get anything out of the (now smaller) risk), but probably not as much of a sacrifice as it used to be.
qeorge 12y ago
Good for you! My Dad did the same (donated kidney to a stranger) about 5 years ago, and still feels very happy with the decision. It was hard for me, because there's a non-zero chance that I'm going to lose a couple of years with my Dad because of this. I'm glad he did it though, because someone else's Dad might get to live because of it. I assume you're undergoing counseling before the operation. If you decide you don't want to go through with it that's totally fine - the fact that you're considering it at all is amazing.
ForHackernews 12y ago
If some people reading this would like to make a positive contribution, but donating an entire kidney is a little too much for them, I highly encourage you to sign up for the bone marrow donor registry: http://bethematch.org/ http://bethematch.org/

exratione 12y ago

There are people trying to pick up the pace for complex organs. Fifty years is way too long. See the New Organ initiative, for example. Lots going on there behind the scenes: http://neworgan.org http://neworgan.org Recent progress with the thymus is an unexpected gift. It is expected that achieving the same with other organs is going to be pretty challenging, lacking such a short cut. Hence the need to speed things up: advocacy and alliances and research prizes.

Gustomaximus 12y ago

Off topic, but what made you want to donate a kidney to a stranger? On the surface this seems incredibly altruistic. It's significantly more committed than what many people do and give away a portion of their income. I hope this is not too personal but I'm just curious as to what thinking/events motivated you to do this and how you went about organizing?

scrabble 12y ago
I never knew it was possible to donate a kidney to a stranger. Was reading an article about someone who couldn't find a donor and a commenter mentioned that this was a thing. I signed up immediately. I'm healthy, I only need one, and like I said, I figure by the time I actually need one we'll be able to grow one -- but I suspect it won't actually come to that. In that light, it doesn't seem all that altruistic.
- eru 12y ago
  It's still altruistic (since you still don't get anything out of the (now smaller) risk), but probably not as much of a sacrifice as it used to be.

qeorge 12y ago

Good for you! My Dad did the same (donated kidney to a stranger) about 5 years ago, and still feels very happy with the decision. It was hard for me, because there's a non-zero chance that I'm going to lose a couple of years with my Dad because of this. I'm glad he did it though, because someone else's Dad might get to live because of it. I assume you're undergoing counseling before the operation. If you decide you don't want to go through with it that's totally fine - the fact that you're considering it at all is amazing.

ForHackernews 12y ago

If some people reading this would like to make a positive contribution, but donating an entire kidney is a little too much for them, I highly encourage you to sign up for the bone marrow donor registry: http://bethematch.org/ http://bethematch.org/