Peer-reviewed article
What Are the Risks?
This chapter examines the risks, both surgical and medical, to donating a kidney. It reviews the financial ramifications of donating a kidney and the nonmedical risks of living with only one kidney — organ damage from contact sports. The…
This chapter examines the risks, both surgical and medical, to donating a kidney. It reviews the financial ramifications of donating a kidney and the nonmedical risks of living with only one kidney — organ damage from contact sports. The chapter then narrates the author's experience of the Mayo Clinic's rigorous evaluation process, from a short briefing with a Mayo transplant surgeon down to one of the most important tests, an abdominal CT scan. The chapter also addresses the highlight of the auhor's long appointment — the donor education class, which involved a meeting with other potential kidney donors, recipients, and caregivers who were also at Mayo for evaluation. Finally, the chapter discusses the author's appointments with Lisa, a nurse transplant coordinator; Margo, a designated donor advocate; and a social worker who was assigned to assess her mental fitness as an organ donor.
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About the author
John D. Lantos is a pediatrician and bioethicist writing on AI in medicine, neonatal intensive care, and end-of-life decisions. His essays appear in JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, the Hastings Center Report, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Aeon. Read more about John.