Barbara & Sherri & y'all,
The varying rabbinic opinions in your 2 posts remind of the saying among us Jews, "3 Jews? 5.3 opinions!" (Don't worry about the math, y'all.
)
I am studying the Jewish Halakhah (= rulings by rabbinic leaders [hereafter "rabbis"] about religious law, obligations, mitzvah/mitzvot, etc.) regarding living kidney donation. Many different rabbis, many different rulings.
The basic possible categories are: always obligatory without exception; obligatory with rare exceptions; permissible; prohibited with rare exceptions, always prohibited. Although MOST respected rabbis who have written on this topic say living organ donation (or similar self-endangerment) is permissible to save a life, a quite small number have said it is prohibited, and a very few obligatory. Usually the latter ruling is specific for the particular circumstances -- e.g., very little risk to the self-endangering person, or the person is a physician caring for people with an infectious disease (think HIV/AIDS). The Rabbi for Barbara S probably thought (or Barbara told him) that the risk was quite small, that the recipient was her brother, that she felt a strong responsibility for his health, and that she really wanted to donate her kidney to him. Thus, her Rabbi's ruling was not just permissible but obligatory
for her with her specific circumstances. His ruling of donation being "obligatory" for Barbara S was not necessarily a ruling for all potential living kidney donations, or even all sister-to-brother donations. (I have several good, comprehensive, references on the Halakhah of living organ donation; if you want them, please e-mail me.)
BTW, Sherri, I am a non-directed donor, but never apply the term "altruistic" to only non-directed donors (i.e., not applying it to directed donors). The differential application of "altruistic" to only non-directed donors was/is done primarily by transplant center or similar officials, although less so recently as Clark noted in his post. In fact, most non-directed donors I know apply "altruistic" to
all donors, as I do. Clark & I had found we had independently arrived at the same conclusion on this topic.
Bill