Kidney Vouchers Are Even Cooler Than You Thought

My last post, “Kidney Swaps and Vouchers and Chains, Oh My!” got a very positive reaction. It was a real feel-good story about a living donor I know who made a new kidney possible for her son even though she couldn’t donate to him directly, thanks to a voucher system. Several people outside the kidney community were blown away by the idea of vouchers, which is part of the National Kidney Registry’s advanced donation program. Not surprising—it is pretty cool. I realized though that I hadn’t explained some of the amazing ramifications of a voucher system.

I’ve heard many living donors who’ve given to a friend or acquaintance–or even someone they didn’t know–report that their families were very upset with them. Can you imagine how shaken these donors were to encounter not just concern but sometimes outright anger as they contemplated the most selfless act of their lives? What if your mother or I need one? What if one of your kids ever needs a kidney (often asked of childless couples and unattached individuals)?

The donor’s answer usually was that they felt compelled to respond to someone’s very real need now and couldn’t refuse to help that person because of a what-if that might never occur. Many of these donors say they felt confident that an equally generous person would step up at such a time of need. One African American woman I was on a panel with recently said because live donation is still uncommon in the black community, her mother was particularly uncomfortable with the idea of her donating to someone she didn’t know. She stopped her mother’s protests once and for all, though, by asking simply, “If I were the one who needed a kidney and had no family donor, wouldn’t you want someone to come to my aid?”

The young man I wrote about in my last post was fortunate to get his live-donor kidney soon after he needed it, just a few months after his mother’s donation. Vouchers can be redeemed years, or even decades, after the donation if they’re not needed right then.

I remember reading about a healthy man in his 60s whose granddaughter had kidney disease and would probably need a kidney transplant in a few years. He feared that he might not be healthy enough to donate by then. With a voucher system, he was able to donate soon to improve the child’s chances of getting a live kidney if and when she needs it. There are no guarantees that a good match will be available at that point, of course, but having the voucher would definitely make her wait much shorter.

So potential living donors who encounter their families’–or their own–troubling “what if” questions, actually have a practical response. NKR vouchers are increasing the number of people willing to donate a kidney—and saving more lives.