Donating a kidney to a stranger…is that something you would ever do? Give one of your kidneys to a perfect stranger? Some people are eager to do it, and others are absolutely against it, even though you can live just fine with one. 

In a recent episode of Causes or Cures, I have a conversation with Elaine Perlman, Director of Waitlist Zero, an organization with the mission of representing kidney donors and ending the waitlist by making it easier for living donors to donate a kidney. Elaine will walk us through her journey, from start to finish, of donating her kidney to a stranger. (And she does so in detail!) She’ll also tell us about the journey of her son, who donated his kidney when he was just a teenager! I can’t imagine that, by the way. At least when I was 18, giving one of my kidneys to a stranger was about the last thing on my mind. Of course I was a plebe at West Point, so my main thoughts in life were not getting hazed out of the institution by the upperclassmen who screamed at me every day for various things. :)

Elaine will also explain what the “kidney crisis” is, how long the wait on the waitlist is, and the cost to living donors, a burden which Waitlist Zero hopes to decrease. Finally,  she’ll talk about the biggest reason people give for donating a kidney to a stranger, and the main reasons people give for not wanting to do it.

If you listen to this episode, I’d be curious to hear if you changed your mind about donating or not donating a kidney to a stranger. While I think it is an incredibly altruistic and rewarding thing to do, I can’t say I’m there yet. Maybe one day…but not today.

To listen to the episode, click here! 

Please feel free to check out some other guests who recently came on the Causes or Cures Podcast:

Making a Drug for Dogs to Live Longer

Searching for the Cause of Havana Syndrome