Southwest Transplant Alliance

Strangely enough, even without WKD, I've had kidneys on my mind. That's thanks to Everson Walls' donation to Dallas Cowboys teammate Ron Springs. What a story.

But that saga brought to mind a question I first asked here almost five years ago: Would you donate a kidney to save a stranger's life?

Let's be honest. When it's someone you love, donation is not that hard a decision.

But given the devastating effects of kidney disease in our society (70,000 on the transplant list), I just wonder why we haven't made the leap to widespread stranger-to-stranger kidney donations.

After all, we've all got a spare.

And unless you have your heart set on boxing or tackle football, there really are no restrictions to living with one kidney.

So why aren't more of us donating to strangers in need? More specifically, why haven't I?

In the officialdom of organ transplantation, little seems to have happened in the last five years to foster altruistic donations. And Pam Silvestri of the Southwest Transplant Alliance said she thinks too many people have reservations for the practice to ever become widespread.

Would she donate? "Absolutely," she said. "If there was someone I knew and cared about, I would do it. I would do it for you.

"But," she added, "I'm not one of those who would just go up to a hospital and say, 'Here's a kidney. Give it to anybody.' It's a surgery, and there's a risk. I wouldn't put myself at risk for someone I don't know. Would you?"

And I said I have always assumed I would. This may sound silly, but I meet so many new, wonderful people on such a regular basis that I don't really draw a big distinction between friend and stranger. Met or unmet, I tend to think of everyone as a friend.

Then with a casual mention, Pam put my philosophy to the test. She said the biggest, most controversial development in the last two years is MatchingDonors.com.

Think of it as an online dating service for organs.

Anyone willing to be a living donor can register online, along with those who need a transplant. Potential matches are identified, and the interested parties take it from there.

I went to the Web site to have a look. Without obligation, it asked me to register as a potential donor. And that little exercise sure took this matter out of the theoretical and into the realm of the real.

I was asked to specify which organs I would be willing to donate – bone marrow, intestine, kidney, liver, lung. ... Yikes. I had never thought beyond a kidney.

Another box asked when I would be available to donate. The default answer said "Today." Yikes again.

Later, I nonchalantly asked my wife if she would mind if I donated a kidney to a stranger.

"For a column?!" Lori shot back.

"No!" I laughed. "To save a life."

(She knows I have been desperate at times for a good column. But I'm not ready to start lopping off body parts. Not yet.)

"Hmm ..." she said, thinking about my question. And we left it there for the time being.

Founder Paul Dooley said MatchingDonors.com produced its 40th transplant Tuesday. All have been kidney transplants.

Surprisingly, the site has only 208 potential recipients registered and 3,749 willing donors. He said lack of awareness has been the limiting factor, but an upcoming article in People magazine should be a big help.

But some fear online donor matching will commercialize the transplant process, possibly leading to the sale of organs. Others say "Why not?" That's illegal now.

It gets complicated. But this part is simple: People will die today of kidney failure.

And I have an extra.

Seems like a nifty gift for World Kidney Day.