Kidney donation

So, in the past I have made many comments on what I would be willing to do for a stranger, and this included a kidney donation.
I was unaware HOW you go about donating to a stranger, so I started doing my research.

This seems so right and I feel compelled to continue on this path.

I have people ask me: What if a family member needs a kidney in the future, but you have already donated yours?

I cannot justly NOT save an individuals life (who IS going to die without receiving a kidney), just because of the POSSIBILITY that someone in my life will need one in the future. On of those things is a certainty, another is just a possibility.

Additionally, I would hope if a family member needed a kidney, that someone else would donate for them (there is a good chance I wouldn't even be a match) and I cannot expect someone to sacrifice in a way that I, myself, wouldn't be willing to do also.

I have also had people ask me what would happen if I developed kidney failure myself in the future? Would that change my opinion of donating?

No, that would not. Almost all things that cause kidney failure, do not select just one kidney. I would not develop kidney problems and think 'Well, thank goodness I have two kidneys', because in the end that would mean that two kidneys would be damaged instead of one. And again, that is only a slight possibility that I would have kidney problems, it is certain that dozens die every day waiting for a transplant.

Thanks to strangers, my loved ones received blood transfusions and bone marrow donations, so I am repaying the world for their kindness.