Most living donors, like me, didn’t know the first thing about donating before it touched their family, their friends, or learned of a stranger’s need and felt compelled to help. The ultimate purpose of this website, my book, and my advocacy, obviously, is to raise awareness of living kidney donation by sharing basic information and personal experiences.
Recently Betsy and I were interviewed on the “Donor Diaries” Podcast (episode 8). The podcast’s goal too is to raise awareness, and it also has a related, ambitious way to do that.
Donor Diaries host Laurie Lee, who is a nondirected donor (that is, she gave her kidney to an unknown recipient), is part of the Maitri River Productions team. The team is raising funds to produce a PBS documentary on nondirected donors. (Psychologist Abigail Marsh, who studies altruism, calls such donors “extreme altruists.”)
CrowdSource for Life is the title of the fascinating one-hour television special about nondirected donors to air on PBS member stations. It features memorable first-person storytelling by the donors themselves, describing their various paths to donation.
The team has already raised an impressive $226,000 but needs a total of $350,000 to meet its production budget goal. Financial donations to CrowdSource for Life are deductible as charitable contributions.
Whether or not you can make a financial contribution, you can contribute to CrowdSource for Life–and living donation–by simply spreading the word with this post.
Could You Be a Kidney Donor? What to Expect If You Give the Greatest Gift 