If You Were a Perfect Match, Would You Donate a Kidney?

What is the reason for this question you are wondering? The answer is simple, my grandfather. He was on dialysis for 9 1/2 years. The comment he out lived his doctors came pretty close to the truth.

They said he was too old for a kidney transplant / donation. At the time I was a junior in high school and would have stepped forward at the drop of a hat to donate one of mine.

I have known several folks on dialysis and the time involved to keep themselves alive. What I'm asking for is your opinion about donating a kidney. Or for that matter, any organ that could give life back to someone in need. May they be a relative or a complete stranger.

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Reason # 1:

As I stated above my grandfather was on dialysis and turned down for a kidney transplant because of his age. I remember sitting with him many times as he became attached to a dialysis machine. This was both at home and at hospitals. For the hospital he had to drive several hours sometimes to get to. Yes when I had gotten my license I steeped up to drive him back and forth. On the way there it was not so much but on the way home he was spent. It felt good to know that he was able to rest after four hours of sitting still and having the blood pulled out of and then pushed back into him. In fact it was because of this that Giving blood was not scarey for me. Comparing the needles used for dialysis vs the ones for the donation. Give me the ones for the donation any day. They are much smaller.

Reason # 2:

In college I had taken a public speaking class. One of the assignments was to do a speech to convince others to do something. In my case I pulled out my drivers license. Then worked on convincing others to check the little box to show that they were willing to donate their organs. I am unsure if any checked the box but it did feel better knowing that I had at least done my part and brought it up to them. Some people will plant the seed, some will water it and others will harvest. With that said I would be happy to have been the one who planted the seed. It meant that the folks in the audience were listening and thinking about what was being shard with them.

The image show is a dialysis machine. like the one my grandfather used.

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If the need were there, would you be willing to donate a kidney?