We do many things differently in relation to other countries (and by other countries, I mean the USA) when it comes to needing a kidney.
Both countries have The List. I’m led to believe that in America it is quite literally a list. You begin lower down and work your way to the top. You can be listed at different hospitals/transplant centres and in different states, which seem to have differing wait times; there is no national List. Depending on different factors (such as accrued time) you may begin further up the list than someone else. Once you start getting phone calls saying there’s a viable kidney available, you know it’s only a matter of time before you get yours. In the UK an available kidney goes to the best matched person (with factors such as distance taken into account) on The List, whether that be someone who’s been on it six years, or someone who’s been on it a matter of weeks (in some known cases, just days). It is a national List, incorporating the whole of the UK and you don’t know when That Call will come.
My understanding is that in the UK you only become active on The List when you begin dialysis; your only option for a pre-emptive transplant (to save you from beginning dialysis) is if you have a living donor. However, I may be wrong. In America you can become active on The List before you need to begin dialysis.
One major difference with kidney transplants was highlighted by the ITV programme Tonight: ‘The Kindness of Strangers’. Whereas the UK only allows non-directed altruistic donation, America actively encourages directed altruistic donation. What does this mean? If you want to give someone the amazing gift of a life free from being tied down by dialysis in the UK, you offer your kidney to The List and the best-matched, most suitable person is found. You don’t get to hear ‘their story’, you don’t get to know how old they are, what religion they may practice, the reason they’re needing a kidney or the colour of their skin. Essentially, you don’t know anything about them. You aren’t making a judgement, playing at being God or having your heart-strings tugged into submission. You aren’t making a decision to donate to someone based on a subconscious, deep-rooted issue, or a biased position; you’re making a decision based on wanting to do what’s right*.
The United States is a completely different kettle of fish. Social media has become the norm for kidney-seekers. I’ve grumbled about it before; the begging YouTube videos, the heart-wrenching (gut-churning) Facebook pages, the I’m better than anybody else who ever needed a kidney and I’ve done nothing to deserve having YOUR kidney but think you shold give it to me anyway because I have children/I’m young/I’m intelligent/I’m beautiful/I can play the guitar (delete as appropriate) tweets. This isn’t to say that all kidney-seekers in America fall into the ‘begging’ trap. I know there are responsible people who use social media as a tool for finding their perfect match, but they do so in a controlled way, carefully stating the facts and using the opportunity to educate those who are ignorant and want to know more so that they can make an informed decision instead of one based purely on sympathy.
Regardless of how they go about it, it saddens me that American individuals have to resort to this. And I truly hope the idea doesn’t catch on over here, but my fear is that it will. Tonight: ‘The Kindness of Strangers’ was partly about the American not-for-profit (um, so why isn’t it free to register like livingdonorsonline.org?) site MatchingDonors dot com which is being introduced in the UK because it’s been so successful in America (apparently, although statistics were lacking) and they can see the need for it here (despite the fact that nobody has yet been allowed to receive a kidney from a live donor who they don’t actually know in the UK, not including paired donation). The premise of the site is that you pay an extortionate amount of money to create a profile explaing that you need a kidney and why, and then wait for the offers to come rolling in. In Britain the site appeals to those people who want to donate but don’t want it to go to just anybody (as evidenced by the two young British women) and those who don’t want to go on dialysis (does anybody?) but have nobody who matches or is willing to donate before this happen, as evidenced by Saira. Saira was a youngish mother. My heart was being tugged. Truly. Saira’s problem was that she’d found a willing American donor but was unable to find a hospital in London willing to do the transplant. Then she did. But it left a lot of unanswered questions; would the American woman’s insurance pay for her to come over here, have the operation and the time needed for her to recover? If the HTA still have the final say, what will happen if they say ‘No!’ at the last minute? Is Saira going to feel any obligation to a person she barely knows?
I am uncomfortable with the idea of directed altrusitic donation. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth; you’re giving someone with compassion the chance to unwittingly play Judge, Jury and Executioner. I like our system for its simplicity; the most deserving recipient of an altruistic donation is the one on The List who is best matched for that kidney. By following the American path are we turning kidney donation into nothing more than competitive entertainment? Who can create the saddest backstory? Who makes us laugh the most? Which would-be recipient is more at death’s door? Kidney Factor, Britain’s Got Kidney, Kidney Hunt, The Kidney is Right, Big Kidney … let’s just turn it into a peak-time entertainment show and let the audience decide …
But ultimately, should we be following this path or should we be educating people about donating their organs upon death? Should willing donors be faced with making such a decision as to which stranger gets their gift, or should we be encouraging more people to consider non-directed altrusitic donation by giving them true and relevant facts and figures?
Shirley Rae got it spot on when she said (and I paraphrase), there are hundreds of healthy organs being burnt and buried in the UK every year … this should be our primary focus. Let’s consider an opt-out system or at least review the idea that family can overturn a deceased’s decision to carry a donor card and be on the donor register. I read somewhere that a whopping percentage of families regret their decision not to allow their loved one’s organs to be donated upon death just two days later. How lovely … but not quick enough.
* I realise that in many ways this contradicts my previous post but I would like to reiterate that that post was based on a couple of statements made by non-directed altruistic donors which were probably portrayed out of context by the media; I do think more people should be encouraged to think about living a life with one kidney and should feel free to do so without having to worry about the other person …
he stole my kidney! 