Altruistic Kidney Donation: Overview and Ethical Considerations

Abstract

End-stage kidney disease is a global pandemic which exerts significant morbidity, mortality as well as economic burden on affected patients. Kidney transplantation, either from cadaveric or living donors, offers the best therapeutic choice to improve survival and quality of life. However, due to the increasing prevalence of end-stage kidney disease, there is a great mismatch between the demand and supply of donor organs. Efforts to mitigate this dire shortage include altruistic organ donations. Altruistic donation refers to organ donation by an individual who is neither genetically nor emotionally related to the potential recipient. This concept at its inception received a lot of resistance from the transplant community and continues to raise ethical concerns. This chapter reviews altruistic organ donation, ethical considerations and its potential benefits.