Charity Calls For More Living Kidney Donors

[Clark]

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16101334

Charity Calls For More Living Kidney Donors
Ashish Joshi

Almost three million British adults would consider donating one of their kidneys to a complete stranger, according to a new charity promoting altruistic organ transplants.
The charity Give A Kidney - One's Enough commissioned a YouGov survey to discover attitudes towards living organ donations.
It found 33% of British adults did not realise that they were allowed to donate a kidney to a stranger and almost one-quarter believed they could only donate to someone they knew or were related to.
I do not know the motives of my donor but I will never forget the act of such kindness and selflessness.
Kidney recipient Chris Boustead
Dr Chris Burns-Cox, the charity's founder, said: "Not enough people know about the NHS scheme, which is a tragedy.
"More than 300 people a year die on the waiting list for a kidney transplant and we think those deaths could be prevented if more people knew thay could give."
The law changed in 2006 to permit altruistic donations, but the act of donating an organ to a stranger while still you are still alive is extremely rare. So far only 88 people have done so.
Jenny Dale, a 47-year-old crime scene investigator, donated her kidney to a stranger last year. She says she has no regrets.
"I read a news article about altruistic donations. As soon as I realised I could potentially give a kidney to a stranger I was searching the internet for more information," she said.
"There was never any doubt that this was something that I really wanted to try and do. I was matched to a potential recipient and it was at that point that the reality really hit home.
"I felt that the kidney was no longer mine I was just babysitting it for its new owner."
Ms Dale has never met the recipient of her extraordinary selfless act.
Chris Boustead suffered acute kidney failure in 2007. His life changed. He had to undergo dialysis three times a week to let him try and lead as normal a life as possible.
One day he got a call out of the blue from the hospital saying they had a kidney for him.
"It is difficult to put into words the difference it has made to my life. In its simplest form my life has become a joy again," he said.
"I do not know the motives of my donor but I will never forget the act of such kindness and selflessness. Thank you is such a poor word for what she has done for me."
Some medical experts have raised ethical concerns over performing unnecessary surgery on fit and healthy adults, but the BMA says it backs the donations.
"The BMA supports individuals who want to donate their kidneys altruistically. It is essential, however, that they are fully aware of the risks involved and are not pressured into making the decision," it said.
According to the One's Enough charity, there are some three million people in Britain who would consider becoming an altruistic donor.
Dr Burns-Cox said "If only 1% of those people donated a kidney the waiting list of 6,500 would be cleared more than four times over."