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has anyone ever donated a kidney or another organ? what is it like? how old were you? were your parents/spouse ok with it? I really want to become a kidney donor, but I still have a few years to go until I am old enough. Any advice??
The OP sounds young. Life with only one kidney is dangerous, as you may lose the one kidney in an accident or illness. Save your kidneys for yourself and your family. And your kidneys are likely to match the blood and tissue types of a family member in need.
I know a father who gave a kidney to his son. If dad had given it to strangers or an “organ bank” at a young age, his son might have had to wait for a suitable donor, or never have received the needed kidney.
Donating organs is not like donating blood. Blood grows back, organs don’t.
I could not disagree more with huju. And having sat thru all the appointments with a donor i have to say the facts don’t agree with him either. Contact Renewal and get educated instead of gathering opinions from us.
Syag, what part of huju’s comment is factually incorrect?
My BIL rec’d a cadaver kidney. His body rejected it after 20 years. By that time his son had become an adult with children of his own. 15 years ago my nephew donated a kidney to d=save his father’s life. B”H donor and donee are doing well.
A familial donor is always the choice for less chance of organ rejectionRenewal (718) 431-9831
huju, see Yechaveh Daas 3,84 discussing this question in detail.
The halacha says that until a person is 20 years old, he is not mature enough to sell real estate that he inherited from his father. How much more so is such a person not mature enough to give away vital organs, parts of himself that Hashem gave him in case he ch”v needs them. So definitely wait until you are 20, and only then start considering it seriously.
Organ donation is a mitzvah but it’s not for everyone. It’s a major step that will limit your options for the rest of your life, so once you are 20 you must be very very sure this is what you want to do before you do it. Consult wiser people, people with more experience than you, talmidei chachomim and tzadikim, and pray for Hashem to guide you to the right decision. And if the result of all that deliberation is that you truly believe this is what Hashem wants you to do, then behatzlocho.
“It’s a major step that will limit your options for the rest of your life,”
What option does it limit (other than the ability to donate in the future) ?
” what part of huju’s comment is factually incorrect?”
Both parts for example
” Life with only one kidney is dangerous, as you may lose the one kidney in an accident or illness.”
The odds of an accident or injury affecting one kidney is rare. Far to rare to call it “dangerous”(that isnt to say there isnt an increased risk of kidney disease and hypertension in the donor, as there is)
Bottom line is discuss it with people who know what they are talking about
What option does it limit (other than the ability to donate in the future) ?
It requires you to avoid risks that a normal person with a spare kidney can afford to take.
“It requires you to avoid risks that a normal person with a spare kidney can afford to take.”
such as?
To SyagLechochma: I infer from your comment that you received a kidney from a non-family donor. I am glad you did. How old was the donor when he/she made the donation, and how many children did he/she have at the time of the donation?
huju – B”H I have not had any health issues. I did offer to donate a kidney to my father when he was on dialysis but he refused for the same inaccuracies that you expressed. Unfortunately for us both.
I have several friends who have donated kidneys, one of my friends son’s donated to his young brother, two friends who were recipients and my husband was a partial liver donor. My husband was the father of 9 at the time, one friend was the mother of 4 or 5 (I don’t remember exactly) , one the father of 1, one single. (That’s off the top of my head, and I feel like I am forgetting someone.)“It requires you to avoid risks that a normal person with a spare kidney can afford to take.”
Source please. I have never counseled a patient to avoid any risk that a “normal person” with a “spare kidney” can partake in.
What should they avoid?
Source please. I have never counseled a patient to avoid any risk that a “normal person” with a “spare kidney” can partake in.
What should they avoid?
Donating a kidney
Meno, did you see the reference above in Yechaveh Daas 3,84 from Rav Ovadya Yosef ztz’l?
Meno, did you see the reference above in Yechaveh Daas 3,84 from Rav Ovadya Yosef ztz’l?
No. Does he say you’re allowed to donate 2 kidneys?
(Just to explain, I was making a joke. Ubiquitin said that he was unaware of anything that a kidney donor should avoid. I was responding that kidney donors should avoid donating a kidney, because then they will have donated two kidneys, which is not advisable.)
Meno, I don’t get it. Why can’t you donate one kidney?
Meno, I don’t get it. Why can’t you donate one kidney?
You can, but you shouldn’t donate two kidneys.
(Just to explain further, when I said that a kidney donor should avoid donating a kidney, I meant he shouldn’t do so AFTER he had already donated a kidney, because then he will have donated TWO kidneys, and that leaves only one kidney left.)
Reb Eliezer – he was making a joke. Someone made the ridiculous comment that a kidney donor would have to avoid some things a normal person can do. A poster asked what someone who already donated a kidney would have to avoid and Meno said, donating a kidney.
Meno
Lol you are of course correct, I hope no patient I advised so poorly misunderstood…Meno, I’m shocked that you would make light of such a serious topic.
@meno
A kidney donor can donate a second kidney as a cadaver donorCTL, it is prohibited to remove any parts from a meis.
If it is for the express purpose of saving a specific Yid, there might be a heter.
Joseph, there is a heter. If you can be mechalel shabbos for pikuach nefesh, you can be certainly take his kidney. Hashem will create new kidneys for him when he becomes alive. See the Noda Beyehuda, who is matir when the person being saved is infront of us.
Reb Eliezer: Right. If the recipient is a specific Yid. Not if it is a general donation to whoever is next on the national registry.
Hey banjobob I might tell gave that u want to donate
I know a father who gave a kidney to his son. If dad had given it to strangers or an “organ bank” at a young age, his son might have had to wait for a suitable donor, or never have received the needed kidney.
True (although a child usually has 2 parents). However, if kidney donation
was widely understood to be low-risk, it might be easier to find a match.(Just to explain further, when I said that a kidney donor should avoid donating a kidney, I meant he shouldn’t do so AFTER he had already donated a kidney, because then he will have donated TWO kidneys, and that leaves only one kidney left.)
And definitely don’t donate your third and last kidney. : )
The kidneys are amazing with so many important functions. Sometimes we do not fully appreciate its value until we see someone that is has a dysfunctional kidney.
Each kidney has about 1million nephrons which filter and reabsorbs the blood. The kidneys maintain normal arterial pressure (or increase BP as needed for compensation), hydration, they manage electrolyte balance, get rid of toxins and waste products the kidneys also act as a buffer for some of the cellular byproducts.
About 180L of fluids are filtered by the kidneys every single day!
@Joseph
The cadaver (I won’t use the word meis) was a 24 year old goy who was killed in a motorcycle accident (no helmet). The issur does not apply to goyim who are npot bound by halacha.Btw banjobob I meant gavs
Ubiquitin asked what risks a kidney donor needs to avoid. Besides high-risk sports, a kidney donor needs to take extra care to avoid dehydration, should somewhat limit protein intake, avoid or limit certain prescription drugs that are an acceptable risk for people with two kidneys, and basically have to look after themselves more carefully than they did before. When you’re 20 years old and feeling invulnerable these are not considerations that come naturally to mind. (Certainly not when you’re under 20 and reckless.) So you have to consciously sit down and consider that one day, with Hashem’s help, you will be middle aged and then elderly, and you won’t have the safety margin that you were designed to have. It’s really as simple as that. Consider carefully, consult widely, and then make your decision.
Millhouse
“Besides high-risk sports, a kidney donor needs to take extra care to avoid dehydration, should somewhat limit protein intake, avoid or limit certain prescription drugs that are an acceptable risk for people with two kidneys,’
do you have any source for this?
I have counseled and cared for many patients both donors and recipients and am not aware of any data that supports this do you have any source for these assertions?
I don’t even understand the logic of some of these recommendations. Take “high-risk sports” I assume the logic is that those with 2 kidneys have a spare should one get damaged in high risk sports.
so should those with one liver avoid high risk sports?
I’m not saying it is risk free, but that doesnt mean risks need to be invented
Ubiq- thanks, you beat me to it. I was just going to say that he is giving more restrictions than the transplant team gives. But I would guess by the wording he took it from a website.
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