Opinion: Living kidney donors rely on a promise to protect our future health. We’re scared it will go away
Five years ago, I donated my “spare” kidney at the Mayo Clinic to a woman I read about in the newspaper. Though living with only one kidney has risks, I was not particularly concerned about my own health. The clinic’s medical evaluation was extremely thorough, and I knew their highly conscientious selection committee would not approve me to be a living donor if they were even the slightest bit concerned the procedure would cause me long-term health problems. Furthermore, I was assured at every step of the process that if my remaining kidney should fail or be damaged, I would “go to the top of the transplant waiting list.”
That promise reassured both me and my family that it was safe to move forward with my donation. The day before my surgery, I signed the forms identifying me as a living kidney donor that would go to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the national system that distributes deceased donor organs to those in need of a transplant. If my act of altruism put me at future risk, the nurse transplant coordinator assured me, these forms would guarantee my high priority status.
