Living Related Kidney Transplants II

Equally important is the psychological aspect of living related kidney transplants. Donors and recipients meet with social workers not only to examine their social support structures, but also to assess the psychological impact of such an operation. What is it like to ask a sibling to risk her life (albeit an extremely small risk) and give up an organ for you? Does living with a chronic disease (often since childhood) change someone's coping abilities and interdependence on others? What is the power dynamic like if one sibling has always been healthy and the other always sick? How will the relationship change after the transplant? Even if one has the best intentions and true altruism, what is it like to go through an operation and its attendant pain, discomfort, rehabilitation, and complications purely for someone else's health? What if the sibling, other family members, or friends put pressure on the donor to undergo the procedure? These questions can get pretty complex, and I think understanding them is essential to keeping living related transplants ethical.