I did a month of inpatient renal in med school and we saw a ton of transplant patients. And one thing that was obvious was that people who got kidneys from living relatives always did much better than those who got them from cadavers.
We saw a few patients who got kidneys from their kids, and I have to say, I always deeply disapproved of that. Giving up a kidney is not without its significant risks, and I'd rather be on dialysis or even die than ever allow my kids to risk their health for me. I feel like that's the natural order of things.
From the kids' point of view, would you let your parents go even though there was something - no matter how risky that something is - you could do to prevent it?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I am almost positive my parents wouldn't allow me to donate although I might want to.
DeleteWhat Anonymous 7:41 said.
ReplyDeleteI am the mother of young one, so maybe that's why I see it this way, but I would never - ever - ever accept a kidney from my daughter. I would very much want to live - I would be terrified of death - but I could not accept her undergoing a serious operation and an uncertain future for my benefit. And my mother would never - ever - ever accept a kidney from me.
ReplyDeleteThere was a recent study that found kidney donors tend to do very well - less than 1% complications even years down the road. I'm 32 and would happily donate a kidney to my 50-something parents rather than have them suffer through a few years of dialysis before dying of a complication. One of my med school classmates donated a kidney to a stranger because, "Hey, I had an extra." Be careful before being judgmental - everyone has a unique story.
ReplyDeleteA 1% complication rate is far too high if we're talking about my children. I feel like the real purpose of my life is to raise them successfully to adulthood, so I certainly wouldn't do anything to even slightly jeopardize their health. I'd accept one from anyone else but them.
DeleteAs for your friend, now he doesn't have an extra if in the future a loved one desperately needs it.
I think it depends on the age of the parent and how bad off you'd be if the parent died (in addition to loving them and wanting them not to suffer or die).
ReplyDeletemeet a lot of dialysis patients. meet a lot of transplant patients, especially living related. reconsider.
ReplyDelete