Ivy Roller

I want to donate one of my kidneys.  To a complete stranger.  I arrived at this decision after much consideration of the benefits and risks that donating a kidney would pose.  My research has shown me that the benefits to the organ recipient far outweigh the risks to me as the living donor.  I only need one of my two healthy kidneys to live, and I cannot think of a greater gift a person could give another human being than the gift of life.  It was an easy, albeit deeply personal, choice for me to make.  The idea first came to me shortly after my last episode of full-blown mania in July of 2008.  I had been thinking a lot about how unpredictable and life shattering both mania and depression can be, and for some reason it occured to me that if I donated one of my kidneys and subsequently didn’t survive a future manic or mixed episode than my life wouldn’t have been a total waste.  So perhaps my decision isn’t entirely self-less; it’s important to me that I do something of value, of meaning, with my life.  And even though everything is back on track for me and the future has never looked brighter, donating one of my kidneys just seems like the right thing to do.

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