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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2022
In the following interview, philosophers Leonard Fleck and Arthur Ward discuss the latter’s recent experience of being a nondirected kidney donor. The interview took place in the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice at Michigan State University.
1. In 2018, there were 786,000 patients in the United States living with kidney failure. Roughly, 554,000 were receiving dialysis; the remainder were surviving with a kidney transplant. In 2020, there were approximately 90,000 individuals on the national transplant list awaiting a kidney transplant. In 2020, there were 5,725 living donor kidney transplants; in 2019, there were 7,397 living donor transplants. Roughly, 23,000 kidney transplants occurred that year, the remainder being cadaveric transplants. Roughly, 30% of kidney patients on the transplant will either die on the list or be removed from the list to die shortly thereafter. The average wait for a kidney transplant is 2.5–3.0 years. Roughly, 37-million Americans are living with chronic kidney disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States; 2021; available at https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/kidney-disease (last accessed 21 December 2021).
2. Donors must pass a psychological screening. Each transplant center does this differently. At the University of Michigan, every donor must speak with a social worker at the hospital. Non-directed (altruistic) donors have a second, more intensive, screening with a specialized psychologist. This just reinforces the point that they are trying VERY hard to weed out people who might regret their decision.
3. Kierkegaard, S. The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening. Vol. 19. Hong, HV, Hong, EH, trans. and eds. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1980 [1843], at 91.Google Scholar
